curses. oil in my radiator.

Check the trans fluid level. As mentioned above this could be trans fluid in the coolant. There should be two trans lines running to the radiator, this is it's cooler. Not too uncommon in other manufacturers to have a leaky trans cooler allowing fluid to migrate in to the coolant. What color does the 'oil' on the radiator appear to be?
Did you completely drain and flush the coolant system during/after the head gasket job? If so did you note any fluid in the coolant when you drained it?

 

sorry for the long delay.........as icing on the cake right after my last post ssometime last week my laptop 'blinked' for the smallest second- that's all the warning I had- and quietly expired. Done. Dead. FINIS.

@Taco crazy: n-no, I did not do a flush. Never thought about the possible necessity.......No, did not notice any fluid in the coolant. And the system was pretty much 'bone dry'. Block _empty_. The only possible reservoir of undrained coolant would have been (maybe) the heater core. Color: Brown. (Note that the tranny was removed and _drained_ completely during this - uh, process. And just prior to tear-down the tranny was drained/refilled twice becausse I didn't like the way it looked. )

This whole replacement/half ass rebuild started with- belatedly replacing my valve cover gasket (approx 1 yr after purchasing).
'nuff said, the details get old quickly.
Thanks for responding. ..... Know anything about temp gauge (sending units?) and ECUs etc?

seriously, I'm off to post "It's Ahhliiive.!!'"