As I thought, it wasn’t the lower radiator hose or the hose clamp. It was the water pump. So after all that work putting the new radiator in, I had to pull it back out the replace the water pump. Taking the radiator out was so easy thanks to the brackets I made. once everything was out of the way, I pulled the water pump, went to the parts store matched it up to a new one and back I go to install it.
The water pump went in no problems, the radiator back in easy too and now the big test, more coolant. No leaks! Can’t wait to road test it now.