[clay68c10]

Have you verified the temp with another gauge or an infrared temp gun? I'd say your fan situation isn't helping. Do you have a factory BBC shroud? What accessory drive do you have? These trucks came with short waterpump accessories, so the fan sits a few inches back from the radiator and at the edge of the shroud.
I have seen my 454 get up there when I lived in TX; summertime with the a/c on it would get over 210 stopped, but would stay around 205 at highway speeds. After an engine off 10min heatsoak it would be close to 230 at startup, but would drop immediately after startup. It seems to be happy at these temps, but I'd say you're running a bit high.