Well I received the car back on Friday after a drawn out coversation with the shop owner. He agreed to change the thermostat again to "keep me happy". When I called to check on it Friday afternoon he admitted I was correct and the thermostat he supposedly replaced the first time was defective and a clip was broken causing it to stay open. I now have a new thermostat, the car warms up to the mid point on the gauge in minutes rather then never and my fuel consumption has returned to normal. Hopefully this is it for a while now! I haven't had a chance to truely enjoy this truck yet with all the issues!

3 months of ownership =
New alternator
New battery
New thermostat
Water leaks via vapor barriers on every door had to be re-sealed

Upgrades:
All weather mats
carbon fiber look color roundel
12" Sub and 600watt AMP (probably cause of alternator failure)
AUX input kit

2003 which now has 39K miles, had 37K when I purchased it from the original owner.