Need some help with coolant lines

[Fendego]

I may have put my cooling system back together not 100% correct lol so I need some help. #1 there are 2 hoses that connect to the heater core on the firewall. Should the hose coming from the block connect directly to the top or the bottom? #2 there is a weird hose contraption, possible called the spider hose?? that is in between there. What is it for and were does it go?

Also IIRC on most cars the inlet of the heater core comes directly from the block and the outlet goes to the thermostat? Is that correct? And if so which is the inlet and which is the outlet, top or bottom? Thanks a lot for the help in my time of frustration :D

[wodcutr]

The hose coming from the back of the block connects to the bottom pipe of the heater core. There is a smaller diameter hose that connects the top hose to the bottom hose. It is a safety bypass valve that is thermostatically controlled to open up and allow coolant to bypass the heater core if the coolant is too hot. These are prone to failure so if your heater is not hot but only warm, then this is most likely the problem. If you have no heat at all then the hoses are backwards or the core valve is stuck closed or the core itself is clogged!

[Fendego]

Exactly what I needed to know, thanks