[Rupert944]

Update from above and question to follow! Posting to this thread because it might be relevant.

I drove the car maybe 300 miles since the above successful coolant bleeding, but then it got snowy and I've just been running it once a week until it gets hot.

Yesterday I ran the car for maybe 30 min while I did some outdoor chores. When I came to shut it off, the temp was a little higher than the middle (doesn't usually get there even on a 95 degree F day), and as I was about to turn the key off, as I found out later, the lower radiator hose partly popped off on the engine side with the resulting steamy drama.

It has been subzero temps and was in the 20s when this happened. The hose didn't come all the way off, and the clamp seems a little loose. The hose is in fine condition. I did not remember to check the temp of the upper radiator hose, but seems like the tstat could be stuck closed...

So what gives? Seems mighty coincidental...