My 88 with 22RE runs below half and I'm in Arizona. It started to creep up and I found my fan clutch starting to go bad but hadn't failed completely yet, and my radiator was beginning to plug up internally. It actually had some cool areas when up to operating temp.
I'm running aftermarket American Made thermostats and never had problems with them. Never had a 22RE pump stop pumping, just leak.
Are you running a fan shroud?
I think it's normal to read a little high after being shut off and parked for a short time. If you pull into a place when hot , shut it down and go in a store or something, the coolant is just sitting in the engine soaking up heat. As soon as you start it, the thermostat should be wide open and it should drop in temp pretty quick.
