Re: Nasty coolant. Bad head gasket?
If the PO never changed the coolant, possible things got pretty funky in the passages. I would do a complete drain, including the plugs on the side of the block and refill with fresh water. Then do your best back flush and see what comes out. Then run it and see what happens.
Whatever you do, when you finish, make sure the coolant is still freeze rated. Winter probably isn't done tossing cold spells.
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