Cooling Problem - I think

[sfedenia]

Chaulk this one up, but to make a long story short - my car had no coolant overflow bottle on the radiator. I know it was running very very hot (coolant looked "burnt"), but the gauge indicated normal. My question is this, I have the dealer paying/replacing the bottle - is anything else messed up? Waterpump, radiator, sensors, Thermostat, etc? I would think the waterpump, after being run dry and hot for a while, would be no good. I can't feel any water in the upper radiator hose, even after it is redhot from a 30 min idle. Pouring coolant in, it does not "get sucked down" into the system.
On a related topic, the car has the worst engine ping I have ever heard. I think it is because the engine is running too hot. Dealer says there is some intake cleaner that will make the pinging go away? seriously, come on...
timing at 8*btdc. no mods. bone stock.