is is possible or safe to start the car and let it idle without the thermostat installled? if its not installed would the engine flood or just run super-cool? i need to let the engine run at least long enough to get me to a shop to get it fixed, my thermostat is not what was causing my overheating because its still doing it. if i take out the thermostat can i drive it ot the shop (about 10 minutes away)? if not, what should i look at next to diagnose the problem? (im notleaking coolant i dont think...what can i do to check and see if the water pump is failed/failing? is there any way to check it?

Thats fine, no problems there with the thermostat, you can run without it

I was told the when the pump goes that you get coolant out the weep hole in the side of the pump, have you tried changing the radiator cap, if its not venting pressure correctly you WILL have overheating problems, also look for lots of debris covering the radiator, I would do a full drain/fill on the coolant, and maybe throw some waterwetter in there

so it can be driven without the thermostat or just idle?

You can drive w/o it. It may send a funny signal to make you run kinda rich, but it should be no big deal. I'd check the water pump, cap, and maybe even a HG if it's getting bad.

are you leaking any antifreeze or you could open the cap where the thermostat is and see if fluid is acutally flowing to see if the water pump is working... if not that thne your raditor may need to be flushed is it milky or anything?

did u check the fans to see if they work properly, or the fan relay?