while Bush hogging and dust/grasses flying around My first thought were to have a possible clogged radiator, surely Has happen with most of us before,
You seem to have taken the appropriate steps to troubleshoot this issue, cleaning and flushing the radiator would have been my first thought,
although I haven't read any suggestions of possible water pump problems,
It does sound to me like a water circulation problem, while the tractor is cold and first started with the radiator cap removed, keep the tractor at a high idle,Note: careful to stay clear of the fan, after a few minutes the water should warm the T-state opens and you'll Begin to see water movement through the filler hole, good sign that the pump is working:thumbsup: although not always can you see the water movement, kinda have to have a trained eye for this,
and again as mentioned if the T-stat is stuck closed it will also not allow the water to circulate,..........
Shade-tree trouble-shooting
Try doing this with the radiator, if you have a size pc. of cardboard equivalent to the size of radiator, while tractor is ruining see if the cardboard will be pulled and held in place to the radiator, if there are no radiator obstructions it should stick to the radiator by suction,
Meaning the rad is clear .... cannot use paper as it is too lightweight and probably stick with a minimum suction,...
this will give you an assurances that the water is being cooled by the Rad.
and you'll know to move on to something else as being the problem,
