***********UPDATE***************
After many hours of troubleshooting this is what I found:
the radiator cap had failed. I could hear a rattling noise that was coming from the passenger side. Couldn't pin point it until I did a pressure check on the cap. Replaced and the car started to heat up inside, but would still drop off when driving.
The thermostat also had failed, even the new one that I had replaced failed. After installing a second thermostat the heat was there.... Although not as hot as it should be on the passenger side, but not blowing cold air anymore either. May look at doing the heater core again, but at this time in the middle of winter, I think I can live with the heat I now have.