Mystery solved. I gave up and had a shop pressure test it. Water pump gasket area. Passenger side. I would have never found that. I told them to throw in a new pump since they're in there already. I won't tell you how much I'm getting charged. (it's about three times what it cost to do the one on my truck alone). But it's almost worth it. Decades old clutch fan bolts are not easy to break free. Plus you get the shop guarantee.

So there's that. At least I'm not crazy or a big dummy. It was real.

Thanks for the input guys. This thread can serve as a way for others to track down this problem I guess. Lot of good info here.

 

so the gasket failed? How much on the odo?

 

230k.

Also doubt this is the only thing I'll have to fix. Used cars are cheap, but they got their issues.

 

But hopefully this is the most expensive.