BW TStat installed, system filled and bled. A bit of coolant came out the overflow during the initial burping process but I got it up to 180 and kept it there without any further spillage. Interestingly my radiator fans did not kick on at that point so I'll have to use the piwis to interrogate those. At the end of it I used my leak tester kit and it stayed blue! No head leak! I did double check to make sure the fluid was reactive by stocking the tester in front of the exhaust and it did indeed turn yellow at that point, so I think I'm in the clear.
On a side note, I thought long and hard about replacing the water pump while I was there. I have no leak from the housing though and there is no bearing play when the serpentine belt was off. I kept trying to figure out a better way of interrogating it (for peace of mind) and then I realized that with the TStat housing off, I was able to stick my flex scope up in the water pump and visualize the turbine blades, which appeared to be in perfect health. Once I could see the guts of the thing I stuck my finger up there and tried to see if there was any internal play in the bearing, which there was not. So in the end I left it in place and slept well after that.
Anyway, I now have a questionable LN TStat for sale, with the housing and a slightly used gasket included!
. Thanks to everyone for the help.
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