i gave my car a complete tune up over the last four days and when i went to replace the thermostat, it wasnt there, i guess the p.o took it out or was gone when he bought it... any reason why someone would drive around without it??? i scraped the old gasket which looked like it bonded to the metal and put in a new 190 i think....

 

The thermostat has 2 functions.

1.) To bring the engine up to optimum operating temperature.
2.) To maintain that optimum temperature.

The PO probably had cooling issues so he removed the thermostat to get as much water flow back through the radiator as he could. This is fine for summer driving but may not allow the engine to build enough heat in cooler weather. IMO you are always better off running the thermostat with a 50/50 antifreeze mix.