I have owned and worked on quite a bit of boat, but I have never had this problem. There is no water circulating through the motor I think. The reason I say that is bc therre is no water coming out of the "[censored] spout" (did over heat once but killed the motor imediatly). What exactly should I look at to figure out how to fix it? Thanx for any and all help fellas.

It sounds like you are at square-1 as for as diagnosis of this (usually simple) issue goes, and a limited knowledge beginner for outboard care/maintenance. Given that burning up a powerhead can be a result of not knowing what you are doing, you want to be careful about how far you take the do-it-yourself approach.

It could be as simple as a clogged tell-tail stream tube on the outboard, or it could be that your water pump is totally trashed.

You did not give any of the meaningful info that would help understanding what's likely. Do you have any idea how old the water pump is in your outboard? (They do wear out or harden and need to be rebuilt). Has it given any prior overheat horns? Is this no-stream thing a result of the one overheat even you mentioned? You didn't say anything about the exhaust bypass on the rear of a lot of outboards. Any water there the last time you ran it?

Be very careful diagnosing this. You could turn a waterpump service job into a powerhead rebuild. You probably need a real mechanic.....

pull the lower unit and check the impeller as well as all gaskets/seals. make sure the little plastic or brass tube coming out of the water pump is stabbed in the right spot (and intact). the optimax is plastic and you can easily put a big gash in the pipe if it doesn't go straight in.

Could be clogged thermostats

Clogged water passage on the engine

Bad water pump/impeller

Start with checking the thermostats first. Also look up how to flush your motor.

Blow compressed air through the tell tail. Hook up your hose with muffs or flush fitting and see if that helps, you shouldn't have to start it for the hose to get water through it.

There are a lot of ways that you could lose water. If you haven't done a water pump in the last couple years you need to do it and then test again. You should do the kit, sometimes a gasket can wear out and let enough water by to drop the pressure to low.

What kind of motor is it and what year model? Was the overheat at the same time as your no tell tail issue?

This is a very common problem on outboard motors. Take it to a boat shop.