Engine running hot?

I had my mechanic put in a new thermostat ( I could have done this myself, but the coolant temp sensor I didn't want to fool with) and a coolant temp sensor since it was throwing a code on diagnostics. The up and down movement on the in cabin temp gauge stopped. It now reads normal and holds a level, but still climbs up to 3/4 on the gauge when sitting at a light after running at 50 mph. I know this is pretty normal, but I have a feeling that I need to back flush the radiator since the original water pump eroded away and the core might have a clog in it.

Thanks for your expertise. After all I spent on this car if I had a few extra bucks I would make a donation. I will as soon as I catch up on some money.

Thanks again.

1996 ford taurus lx 3l dohc 108,000. Car has been running a little hot for a while then lately it was running closer to the hot mark than to normal mark. I did a fllush and changed the thermostat and the overflow cap(there is no radiator cap in this car) the old coolant was pretty clean. Still the same. So I inspected all the hoses, changed two of them and also changed the water pump and the radiator. Still the same. The fans always come on and seem to come on at the right temp but even when the fans come on; the temp seems to gradually go up to that level. The fluid level seems to always be the same. I have never noticed a leak. And there is no white smoke or condensation in the exhaust.

So today my car was running hot so I put coolant in it and it'll stay cool for about 10 minutes then go to the hot side then the gauge will go back in the middle. When it goes to the hot side the check engine light comes on and when it goes back to the middle it goes off. I'm not sure what's going on.

When driving it runs hot when idling it either stays at the same spot on the gauge or goes down a little

I'm not sure lol

My car runs hot when I stop at red lights or idle for longer than 5 minutes but is cool when im driving down the road.

Why does my car run hot when I idle but is cool when I drive? Sorry

Ever since like 2 months ago it only blows out hot/warm air.

Na the fans work fine could it be the water pump?

Well there seems to be rust in the radiator and i'm guessing that there might be rust in the water pump causeing it to not circulate like it should just wanna get a second approval?