You bought an 88 Taurus?!
Damn, dude...have you SEEN the TSB and recalls on that baby??? I worked at several Ford dealers for almost 2 years, and I have NEVER EVER seen a car with as many problems as a Taurus from the late 80s-early 90s. As unreasonable as it sounds, I would cash out on that car immediately. If you can't (yeah, I know it was an unreasonable suggestion
) I hope you got lucky and picked one with a Wednesday motor!!
Have the head gaskets been redone yet?