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Hi Gold,
First thing that popped into my head was a bad thermostat- but as you already changed that, it appears unlikely( unless someone put in a wrongly rated on, or installed it incorrectly?).
Have you tried turning on your heater on full blast to see if that air is hot? (You can also use this trick as an emergency measure to help cool the car- the heater core uses the engine coolant to heat you up, and this also cools the car at the same time. Obviously this won't be very comfy in CA, but a small amount of sweat would probably be better than a blown head gasket!)
Other thoughts: bad radiator cap/clog somewhere in the radiator/system/ air stuck in system / bad fan/clutch/relay?
The radiator cap is a $5 device that opens up and closes at the proper pressure (~15psi iirc) to make sure that the superheated coolant can expand and go to the expansion tank. When the pressure drops (ie coolant cools), the cap allows the coolant to get sucked back into the radiator. Does the spring and the valve cap look ok? The fact that you have a cool coolant tank is an interesting clue. Does it look overfilled/empty?
Air in system- this can cause a bunch of issues. Easy fix though. When your mechanics replaced those hoses, they should have already done this, but they may also have not. The basic idea is to remove the radiator cap [on a cool car!], fill it up with coolant and turn on the engine. The water pump will pump the coolant around and the radiator will "burp" out any air in the system. You will then refill the coolant, and try it once more if you are paranoid (After the car has cooled). Be careful if you do try this, and be sure to keep an eye on the temp gauge.
Have you also physically made sure that your fan(s) are powering up?
I'm sure some others will come along with some other suggestions soon. Good luck!
gas-can
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