regardless of the thermostat being installed its still getting hot. I have tested the thermostat in boiling water and it opened and closed just fine

Was it getting hot before it was recoed. Are the clearances a little tight. Could some sealer have blocked up something. Just some random ideas on what I have seen before.

Are you running through the heater? if so check its not blocked or partially blocked. Ive had couple of pintos that seem to run really hot, and this has been the culprit. Remove hoses from bulkhead and run hose back and forth to clear restrictions. Also check the temp sender is the correct one.
 

Radiator nor working- bottom hose should be cooler than top?
Head gasket - bubbles or the smell of exhaust frpm the radiator

I'll have a go and suggest cam timing and/or static timing is advanced to far as this can cause heating up and As with a fresh motor being tight also gives the higher temp than normal. If your motor has higher compression. Like 10.2:1 or similar the timing should be closer to TDC ,tho a dyno will get that spot on.
Also was the block hot tanked to remove rust scale and corrosion. If not , some water galleries could be blocked stopping its cooling efficency.
Hope you get it sorted cause there ain't nothing worse than constant overheating and being stuck in rush hr traffic.

You need to put a temperature probe into the water to determine if the guage is actually reading right.  I have seen many people waste a heap of time and money replacing parts because the gauge was reading high when the engine was operating normally.  Eliminate that possibility before going any further

+1 for not having enough water in the system.  You need to run the car with the cap off and then fill the radiator when the thermostat opens and the fluid drains into block.

I reckon its got an airlock in the head somewhere, you`ve covered everything else
 

I tried bypassing the heater from the inlet manifold to the water pump but made no difference. I converted from 1.6 to the pinto so am unsure of how it ran previously but i did have the block and head hot tanked and tested and all was fine. No bubbles or exhaust smell and its a brand new ally 3 core radiator. i bought a new thermostat today and notced that it was different to my old one. The old opened at 191°f and the new one opens at 188°f as per the tridon book at supercheap. Ignition timing is bang on 6° but i might re check the cam timing but the markers all seem to line up.

Well your doing the right things, checking everything. All you can do is keep going in the same vain