<My temperature gauge behaves exactly as yours does. I also saw a
difference in the gauge after the new T'Stat was installed - it certainly
settles a lot lower now than it used to. However, my temperature gauge has
never gotten anywhere near the LED on the way home in the winter even with
the standard range thermostat. I've been doing this drive for over ten
years and I always stare at the temp>

Ditto for my '84 running a 2.1 with the cooler t-stat. My temp gauge runs at about 1/4, never seen it get close to the LED. My old '84 always stayed right on the LED.    Jeff