katejetta4,
I think the key is in the first post you made. You said that before the car went in for the water pump and belt, the heat barely went above cold. This is a classic symptom of a thermostat being stuck open. Chances are this is the original thermostat, but you didn't mention the year and model of the car. Ah, I see 149k on your odometer...
Swap out the thermostat with an OEM Honda part. I've tried a number of aftermarket thermostat's and was truly unimpressed by the quality. The Honda part is a nice hefty piece of brass with a gasket that slips around it. For example, the NAPA part was a small tinny little thing with no gasket included...eek.
Now, your gauge seems to read exactly where all of my Hondas have been when they are operating normally, so don't worry about that, you're finally running normally.
Here's my theory:
You start up and the car warms up slowly. The thermostat is stuck open so the warmer coolant is circulating everywhere. Let's say you start driving at this point. The extra cool air hitting the radiator will cool you down further. If the thermostat was working, it would close at this point to compensate. Similarly, when you turn on the heater, that coolant is now circulating to the heater core, further reducing your operating temp.
IMO it's not really worth testing a thermostat as long as you get a good replacement one. Last time I checked they cost about 8$ for a Honda part. You'll have to drain a bit of coolant and you'll inevitably spill some when cracking open the housing, so have some of that on hand. If memory serves, it's just three 10mm bolts holding the housing to the block.
Bogatyr