Well, It's fixed. It was a clogged rad as far as the mechanic can tell. I
took it to a friend's shop over an hour away who specializes in VW's and
they had the same prob
with other Vanagons. They pressure backflushed it and it blew chunks.
Nice. I have to pick it up yet, but the mechanic claims it barely gets to
the halfway mark and was wondering if I had a low temp thermostat. As far
as I know, it is a stock one I picked up at a VW parts place. I called and
asked if indeed this could be and they just have one listing for a
thermostat for that year. It's probably the stock one and my rad is so
clean that it just cools better. It cost a little more than I wanted to
pay, but now I know it was done right.

Thanks for all the input on the list.
-steve-