thermostat not opening? HELP ASAP

[Squareforceone]

Hey all i'm really worried about my 84 with a 350. the thermostat doesn't seem to be opening. I ran it without the thermostat for a bit to tune and adjust timing and stuff (motor swap) and never had the temp light (idiot lights) come on. Well today i put in a new thermostat with the spring going into the engine and let it run for a few minutes with the heat on and the raditor cap off to try and bleed the system of air. Well the the upper hose never got hot. the heater hoses and bottom rad hose did and after a few minutes the temp light came on.... please help i need to go out of town in the morning