The engine has 570 hours on it since new (was a new certified 0-320 D1A in 2005) The oil cooler is the standard unit supplied in the Vans FF kit and is mounted on the back of the engine baffle on the left side, a very common setup. The temps have always ran normal to a little cool, even in hot weather, and it's seen hot weather before as the plane has always been based in Florida or lower Georgia,
This winter I blocked off part of the cooler to get the temps up during the cold weather, but that's removed now.
Oil temp reads about ambient on the ground before startup and the temps did come back down on that last flight, once I throttled back and began the descent.
Based on my research so far, it could be the gauge or the sender, a bad ground, plugged or partially colasped oil lines, plugged cooler or the vernatherm.
I'm thinking it not the gauge or the sender since the temps seem to go up and down in a fairly normal and not in an eratic manner. I had just installed a new battery just before the issue first appeared, so possibly a poor ground.
Given the sudden onset of the issue, I'm betting the vernatherm is the culprit. That would be consistant with my luck, as that little sucker isn't cheap...