Thermostat looks to be good.
PAhonda, thanks for replying, not sure if I'll get to check it again until this weekend. Just started a new job with plenty of overtime

 

I'm finally getting around to having another wack at this with my new multimeter.
i'll recheck the wires for the pressure switch, and try jumping them. Although if the pressure switch has continuity it should provide the same results as being plugged in.

 

so, not sure what was going on last time I checked the PS, but this time on red I get 11.4v with engine off, key in position II, and blue reads resistance, 2. something I believe.
Also, now I'm not getting continuity through the PS, which previously I may have been inadvertently hitting the probes together or both on one terminal.
Also, with a jumper in place the AC fan kicked on, but no cold air, so I'm thinking it may just need a charge.

 

Hold on. The red/wht wire has 11.4 volts, but what are you using as your ground? Are you unplugging the pressure switch to test for voltage?

When you jumped the connector to the pressure switch, did both fans turn on? Also, did the compressor clutch engage?

Your resistance tests are confusing, because I don't know what 2. means. Is that amps, milliamps, or kiloamps? Without this information, I don't know what your measurements mean.

 

Black probe was connected to neg battery terminal, with the plug off the PS and red probe on red/white.
jumped, just the driver side fan kicked on, and the compressor clutch engaged.
Milli I think, think there was an M on the screen.

i got a gauge/hose and a can of R132 at wally world, a 2nd can brought it up to 45psi and nice cold air from the vents. It seemed to drop a few psi, so I'll have to check it tomorrow and see if I need to find a leak.

I started this whole thing under the assumption the AC system didn't work as told by my buddy/PO, I wish I had just tried adding some R132 off the bat instead of troubleshooting nothing! lol

 

You want to avoid adding R-134a without doing some diagnosis first. Overcharging the system is dangerous, because you can damage the system and could get hurt. You really should get a manifold to measure the pressure on the low and high side of the system.

About how many ounces of R-134a did you add to the system?

If the pressure in the system was low enough to trip the pressure switch, you must have a leak somewhere.

If the pressure gets low again, I suggest adding the R-134a that has dye. Then you will need to locate the source of the leak to repair the system.

 

So the car seemed to run fine this morning into work with AC on low, coming home however, the temp gauge shot all the way up within 15 - 20 minutes. I tried letting it cool off several times but temp gauge just kept shooting up, even with AC off and turning the heat on, which didn't feel very hot at all BTW.
First time I let it cool down I noticed the overflow/reserve was low and/or empty so I filled it with what I had, half a gallon of spring water but didn't seem to make any difference.
Hopefully the radiator has a drain, I'll drain it all and make sure it's got proper AF/W mix.
Anything else I should look at?

 

I suspect it may have been the radiator cap, when I pulled it off this morning it fell apart inside the radiator. So it wasn't releasing pressure, let alone sucking anything out of the overflow/reserve
I'm heading up to get a new one now and a jug of 50/50.

 

Radiator cap was wrong, aftermarket rad needed Toyo type cap, distributor o-ring was leaking and heater hose right under it to valve had a hole.
All fixed(and broken), and running steady temps with AC on or off.

 

Fix one thing then something else comes along....got to love it some days

Glad you have everything going now.