water pump dead?

[Delorean17@xxxx]

Hello,
My car gets hot really fast now. If I start it up for a minute or two, 
the gage is near 225 so I have to turn it off. I have the cooling fans set 
to run at all times and I also have an overheat protector from DMC Joe on it.
I used to get a ssssss noise when I removed the overflow cap but I no 
longer do.(when it stayed cool) someone mentioned the water pump. how can I 
test it to see if it is working correctly? the system is full of coolant and 
I have about an 1-1/2 inches in the overflow bottle. I checked everything 
out and I dont see any leaks. any ideas on what this could be would be 
greatly appreciated.

Thanks

David