It was 17f the other day, mine seemed to warm up just fine. That is really strange to me, the only thing I could think of is that your temperature sensor is not accurate or the coolant is bypassing the thermostat, but if it's installed properly I don't see that happening.
As far as hot air, if the engine is getting up to 177f then you would still get hot air from the heater, so that has to be a flow/valve(broken/not enough vacuum) issue.
As far as hot air, if the engine is getting up to 177f then you would still get hot air from the heater, so that has to be a flow/valve(broken/not enough vacuum) issue.