Does hot air come from the dash vents too or is that just for the AC air?

You should be able to set the temp to heat and then select the vent to have air come through it.

the vacuum canister in the l/f fender check that the vacuum hoses are hooked up that is ussally whats wrong

Thnx. I just got the car yesterday
so that's why it's a puzzle.
Can it be a related deal that I smelt a burning scent
from the left side
(sort of under the passenger door, but only outside)?
So if I check the hoses, would it be loose or dangling, etc.? In other words, what am I looking for when I see the canister?
(which I did find)
(it's near my anti-freeze over-flow container)

make sure the vacuum line is pluged into the canister.does the cruise and the auto emerg. brake release work?

You will not get hot air out of the dash vents, since it is an auto climate system. It will select its mode of airflow, depending on temperature setting. You should be able to feel it transition to, and through, the dash vents as you select more of an ambient in-car temperature. This will be the case from about 75, on down cooler, to a full dash vent outlet as you reach max cold. The defrost setting is the only override on the temperature, otherwise mode is automatic.

1.) Yes, the cruise works perfect and the emerg brake "snaps" off as well, so the lines must be sound.

2.) GSTAC: I hear what you mean about mode being auto
BUT I have been trying at temps like 65, 67, 68, 70.
So those SHOULD be creeping thru the vents right?
I drive 62 miles to work so it's been tried when
the weather is cold as well as the car AND
when the car's been well-warmed up.
Still nothing comes outta the vents.
Wouldn't an ambient-setting of 67 come out of the vents?
That's where I keep it most of the time.
I am bringing it back to mechanics on Thursday
( they did other stuff today and just started thinking
about the vent problem) They think it might be some sort of "brain" or sensor in the dash and not under the hood.
Some piece that splits/guides/merges the air to the diff places.
It's puzzling cuz I can feel it on the floor
and on top for defrost.
Would a strict "caddy dealership" have any insight
or is the problem that the car is just old and no one remembers?

p.s. Found out that the burning smell was actually
a plastic bag that got stuck under the engine area
during the cross-country shipping.

you gotta vacuum leak causing this.remove the glove box.youll see the a/c progrmmer.it has a arm on top and electrial connecter and the vacuum connecter.remove the nut holding the vacuum harness.then you need too check the vacuum to the programer with a gauge.

This might answer the function test a bit, although it mentions nothing of when exactly the air flows from dash vents. This info is from Alldata, I always consider it 'filtered' factory info.

thank you everyone for all their help:
it saved me hundreds of dollars in labor costs
and a few frustrating hours for the mechanics.
The whole problem was that I didn't know that by
simply pushing "ECON", it would shut off the a/c compressor
and let me vent "reg" air up until the temps
that the computer deemed was actual "heated".
Now everything works as it should.
I can get what I wanted all along: "reg" air
(used to be called "vent", remember?)
coming thru the vents but without having the ice cold ac on.
Most cars always had "defrost" "vent" "heat" & "mix".
But Caddy just has "defog" "defrost" and the rest is up to auto and whatever temp you choose.
Why couldn't the manual just tell me that "ECON" stops the a/c
but cont's to let me vent it?
The system log GSTACEY e-mailed me, really spelled it out
and that was the solution, thanks again everybody.
Nothing broken, just me not knowing how the system worked.

and a Merry Christmas from Penny the cat!