[Synchromesh]

I ran into an issue with my 3.2. It appears it's running rather cool at all times. The temp needle stays just below the first mark on the temp gauge which I believe is 180F or just 82C. It will go a bit above that mark when the weather gets hotter but never into the middle like it did on my old '84 Targa.

I checked the oil cooler thermostat and it appears to be operating properly. I also pulled out the main engine thermostat and used a heat gun to test it. Appears to be working just fine. Figured maybe it's the sender and replaced it. Didn't change anything on the gauge side.

Last thing I did was buy a thermometer with a probe on Amazon and stick it in the cylinder cooling fins area after a long drive. Came back with 98C give or take which is the correct operating temp iirc. So any ideas what gives? I figured maybe the gauge went bad? Or is this normal behavior? Thoughts appreciated.