Ok - I did 3 things yesterday:
Changed a very old oxygen sensor
Replaced the air filter
Re-mounted my starter. At some point someone installed the starter using one bolt that was 10mm too short and may have also stripped the crap out of the threads, which was ok until I started driving on bumpy gravel roads. The short bolt stripped the rest of the way out and the other bolt worked loose enough to make the shifter wobbly but not enough for the starter to actually drop. I found the problem and got the starter mounted I think properly, but a lot of dust did get in around the gear.

It started and ran great but 10 miles later I notice the temp needle going up while I was in traffic. Cranking up the heater brought the needle back to the center but not that much heat was actually coming out of the vent. The needle went back up after I turned the engine off which makes me think it was a circulation issue and that maybe the engine was actually running hotter than the gauge indicated. After it cooled down I was able to add a few ounces of coolant into the filler cap. The reserviour was at a normal level.

Before I start looking for clogs or bad water pumps is there any chance I caused this with my repairs? I can't think of a way but perhaps I'm missing something.