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The hotter they run (within reason) the more efficient they are.

I was under the impression that almost all computer controlled engines had the 195 degree thermostat. But... I have been wrong before. I think I replaced that when I did the heads, but I cannot remember which one I got... I probably defaulted to 195 if there was even an option...

I would check the inhibitor relay (the one on the fender). Sounds like it's clicking, but make sure it's got continuity across the contacts when the coil is powered.

I haven't read much into this at all, but based on your description, I would look at the battery cables, grounds, and fusible links coming off of the battery. Those conductors often get corroded and could be a source of experiencing low current to the starter and low voltage to everything else. I had a bad starter years ago with similar symptoms. That happens after 300Kmiles on it. The brushes were completely worn out and no one sells brushes alone anymore, so I bought a rebuilt one from the local auto parts store. That's my 2 cents... I don't know about the alarm system at all, so I cannot elaborate.

Lots of progress since my last post! Got the caliper brackets designed and ready. Waiting on some hub rings to center up the rotors before welding them up; should have them done later this week. More pics when they're done, but here's the idea. Sway bar tab welded on. Thinking I'm might go with the H3 end links instead of the Mustang ones, so I had to weld the tab a bit lower to clear the caster bolts. The big news from the weekend was that I finished up the power steering system! I decided to use most of the low-pressure line all the way to the reservoir. It was becoming too much of a challenge figuring out where to route hoses, especially factoring in the cooler. But, works out great. I picked up some new OEM hoses off the reservoir from Japan to really freshen things up. This pressure sensor was a bit of a thorn to deal with. The ECU uses it to idle-up the engine when high-side pressure increases enough. Nissan uses an M12x1.25 thread on the sensor, so I needed an adapter. There wasn't really a good way to mount it, so I made a bracket with some angle iron and found a convenient way to tuck it out of the way without needing to relocating the wiring too much. Everything's pretty tidy...as tidy as I can get it. I have ample clearance from moving parts, but did need to shim the air box up about 1/4" to give a tad more space around the high pressure fitting. It's tight, but it's going to work just fine. The final highlight is that I got everything back into the engine bay and fired up the engine! It's been over a year since it ran. 1st try, it didn't do anything. Click. 2nd try, click. 3rd try...fired up! Rough start, and sounded awful. Bad tapping/ticking noise. I figured it was from just dry lifters from sitting for so long, but I had a gut feeling that maybe somehow I screwed up the timing when I changed the water pump. Shut it off. 4th try, less noise, still a little tick, but otherwise smoothed out soon after. At that point, I played with the power steering and topped off the reservoir. Power steering works and no leaks! In other news... Ordered a built-to-length double cardan driveshaft and am waiting on it. I'll need @TowndawgR50's machining magic to make an adapter to mate it with the TX10 output flange. I spent some time exploring other options, but that seems to be the best approach, which is also the approach Nissan Nut recommended. Towndawg's already got a box in the mail for me with some off-the-shelf aluminum hub centering rings that have been machined to be custom fit for the project. They'll center up things nicely and allow me to finish the caliper brackets. Also anxious to get the remaining parts for the sway bar disconnect.

Today had enough progress that it deserved its own comment. After spending a couple weeks designing a few ideas that gave me some adjustability, decided the other day to just get on with it and make a static mount in what I seemed like the right spot. Pretty straight-forward at this point. This is the first mock-up with a tire...finally! There's so much space in there, that it makes the 2.0 coilovers seem puny. But hey, no more farting around with the stupid coil bucket on the McPherson strut! There's about 4" of space between the springs and tires, and about 2-3" from the inner fender. The first two pics in this post show a different attachment method, but this will be the end result. There will be a strut 'ring' atop the strut tower with bolts welded in, then the coilover mount attaches from underneath. This way I won't need to remove all the crap above the strut towers to change anything. After getting the mounts all welded up, I decided to see if the spring selection was the right one. So, time to see if it can support itself! Ride height compression... And so, I have coilover mounts! Right now this is about 1.5" taller than I predicted. I'll eventually put a bumper and winch on to pull things down another 0.75" or so and hopefully they'll settle the rest. I can't lower it any more unless I change springs, so I'm going to see how this does. Overall, I'm satisfied. I'll eventually make some changes to the rear suspension to level things out better, but I think I'll have some squat for a while. Painted the steering links today, too. Panhard and radius arms refreshed with bushings and paint the other week. In this pic, the axle is supporting the truck, so I must be doing something right! The axle is at ride height so I have some pretty good clearance.

Couple updates since the last post... Got the Rubicon sway bar mounted. Still a few more things to do before that whole component is done, but for now, it's at least mounted. Awaiting some parts to finish the pneumatic portion of it, and need to make the mounts to attach the end links to the axle. The end links are from a late model Mustang, to add to the Frankenstein parts collection. Also finished the radiator shroud. Turned out well enough, I suppose. Tasked my CNC router to make the ABS panel and then spent some time heating it into shape before riveting it on. At this point, all the radiator is back in the truck and the engine is basically waiting for coolant. I'm waiting to do that until I figure out how I'm mounting the steering lines. Ordered new switches for the overhead console. Not sure who remembers, but a few years ago, I picked up an overhead switch console made for Patrols. I installed it in the truck long ago, but it's only had blank panels installed since. Looking forward to putting it to use, but not looking forward to redoing the wiring. I'll also be overhauling the pneumatic setup...and also dreading that, too. Got these from https://www.otrattw.net, except the ARB cover. Found sway bar "diconnect" switches all over the place, but since OTRATTW lets you customize the text, I just decided to make it spelled correctly. The remote air switch will be used for my tire inflation/deflation setup. Ordered all the power steering line kits and fittings. I have a pretty good idea how that's going to work, but still figuring out how I want to route the lines. No real update beyond that.