ok, nice reply, thanx for all the info

the fan clutch does work and does have resistance to it.
i think it is the thermostat but now that you mention radiator im gonna check that for sure.

it never smoked, once i seen it start smoking i shut it down. so i dont see any coolant in the radiator. the antifreeze looks brown because of the heatercore leak fix. it did fix my heater core. but that also could of messed up my radiator. the truck was sitting for over a year before i bought it so im assuming that has a lot to do with a lot on my truck (ball joints for sure)

im checking the compression friday, i dont have time today ill be working till dark. i have it already to set up, the battery was dead last night so i had to charge it. but its all in the plug hole and fuel pump fuse pulled and ready to get cranked over. I did take about 7 pics with my camera phone but i guess thats not enough. ive already sprayed as many bolts as i can find with the pb blaster, especially the exhaust bolts. ive got the manuel.

thanx for all the info for sure, im more confident about what i need to do now. ill replace everything while im in there as well, water pump, etc...

kevan