Ok, the hoses got harder as the temp increased, not from initial firing up. Even after running it to temp after 30 mins, they were very hard, but I could squeeze them a little. Nothing blowing out or bubbling from the coolant bottle...
My compression test and leakdown tests passed, so I thought all was well... What else could explain the "blackness" in the coolant? I went out today and sure enough, what was in my coolant bottle separated... Nice green coolant on top with black at the bottom... A little shake and it completely mixed again...
Oil pressure is 25-30 hot idle, 50-60 cruising, and goes up to 70-80 when cold and driving...
No oil in coolant, no coolant in oil... It starts right up even without glow plugs when its above 70 outside... no hydrolocking or anything... It does not have a trans cooler or oil cooler in my rad either... nv4500 and separate oil cooler in front of radiator...
Tomorrow when i get off work, I will do what sctrailrider said... Ill pull the tstat (just 1) and the belt and see if i get bubbles.