Took out the Tstat and the check valve and flushed motor totally, didn't seem to be any blockages- tstat housing was 100% dry (still had a little sand stuff in it from the last run from the previous owner). It's too late to get a trial start without a tstat so I'll update tomorrow if anything happens. Aslo found out that having the intake in the water isn't good enough as the water pump isn't self priming - so gonna go with a bigger can