Overheating Options

[Random_Stranger]

Ok, I know this is bad but just hear me out.

I was in the mountains yesterday, about a 40min drive from my house (well, 40min from the point I was at). I noticed a sweet smell and pulled over to discover that I have a hole in one of my hoses. So by the grace of God, I made it home without my car overheating, because I couldn't call anyone as there is no reception out there. Today, I figured she would make it since autozone is only 10min to and from my house... WRONG! She started to overheat, so I turned on the heater full blast and it helped her out a bit as I just coasted in neutral. But noticed no heat was coming out. Once I parked the car, the obvious hole was smoking. So I go inside and get what I needed to replace the hose, along with tools I didn't need to buy, but didn't bring with me either. I checked the res tank and the hose was still wet (although could have meant there was fluid in there YESTERDAY), so I figured the hose problem would be corrected and all is well. So after many cuts, cursing, and cunning, I changed it out and started her up. Oh she took awhile as if she had to warm up to show a lil thermo. So I started to drive and not even 2 minutes she was climaxing to HOT. I had to keep going, so I threw her in neutral and again, heater full blast with no heat coming out. I managed to get some as I was only 1min away from my house and she stayed in hot zone, but was fine. The engine operated normal without any problems, yet the gauge keeps wanting to climb.

I am letting her sit before I check to make sure she is topped off with coolant before I check again. Now, other than checking the thermostat, with no other visible problems of losing coolant (no more drip), is there anything else I should be concerned about regarding the cooling system? I mean she literally hit the top of the overheat meter but functioned as normal. No smoke or anything when I lifted the hood once I got home.