Stumped on hot temp gauge reading

[spacepirate]

Alright maybe there is a blockage? I brought it up to temp this morning with the front end raised really high to try and bleed some air but I also put a thermometer in the radiator to see what the temps were. Whats odd is that the temp in the radiator never climbed and stayed around 80 degrees but I can fill heat in the top hose and the gauge is reading around 250.

I've ordered a new thermostat from Summit to try that option and I'm not sure the one I got locally was the right one.

Just so I can get confirmation, I have the hoses going the the right inlets right? The top one goes in, well the top one, and the bottom returns back to the lower radiator.