When you felt the radiator hoses, were they pressureized? The hoses should be under pressure after the engine is at operating temp. Other wise the radiator cap may be bad or you may be low on coolant or have a leak somewhere. Also you said that you could hear the radiator boiling? If that is the case then the guage is probably not wrong. It is probably over heating. If the upper hose was noticible hotter than the lower hose then you may have a clogged radiator. Also check for any excessive bubbles in the radiator with the cap off and engine running. This may indicate a blown head gasket or worse.