The VHF gets out much farther then CB and its clear. Last time I checked (few years ago) it was still illegal to put one in a vehicle, but as many things, its only if you get caught.
You should have 240 to 33 ohms (cold to hot) gauge and sender.
Take the wire off the sender at the thermostat. With key ON (motor OFF) ground the sender lead to the block. Doing this should peg the gauge hot
Lots of rust, must be near or on salt water
Agree, think I would replace the coil also
The post does rust up if unprotected. Put a thin coat of grease on it after taking a small wire brush to it
Gear lube coming out the water intake is either something busted or seal failure. Need to take it apart to find out.
Are you sure the motor blew or the drive seized up
Yes
Gas being 4 years old, I would drain it. Adding good gas to bad can make more bad gas
Pull the fuel filter and drain it into a clear container. It should be clear, smell like gas and not rotten.
Take some accurate measurements and verify they are 3/8 x 9.75 length. Then find ones which will work. I did some looking at summitt racing and found a few, but not sure about the tip.
The 3.0 is a marine and industrial motor only. Was never put in a auto app.
Only needing one, should be easy enough. BAM has 2 available for 10.93 each
https://www.mercruiserparts.com/34532-push-rod
A boat motor is a truck motor and should turn over the same speed.
Clean both ends of the battery cables to shinny metal. Check your points
Drip a small amount of gas down the carb to see if it fires
