Even well after the truck is blowing warm air from the vents (5-10 minutes after starting) the temp gauge is still stuck at full cold, is this a normal thing or do I possibly have an air bubble in the engine?

I've had a live scan gauge hooked up to it several times and the temp readings I'm getting seem to be normal

 

2007 Ranger will have a 2.3l 4cyl Duratec engine, last 2.5l in a Ranger was mid-2001

2007 will also have a digital dash, or hybrid dash
This means Coolant temp gauge is not hooked up to engine Sensor, it gets temp from the Computer.
Oil gauge and Fuel gauge still use direct connection to their senders

Google: Ford instrument test mode

You can test the gauges and it might show a code if there is a problem

 

Thank you!