Mark, I'm a newbie to e34's too, but I just changed my thermostat yesterday and realized that I would need to "help" it bleed. With the engine cold, I filled up the expansion tank full and opened the bleeder valve on the expansion tank. Then squeezed and released the lower radiator hose on the right side until the expansion tank was getting low. You can hear the bubbles being released. Repeated that quite a number of times until I felt like I'd milked a whole herd of dairy cows. But finally the bubbling stopped. I then started it and let it warm up with the bleeder screw open and the cap on the tank.

Hope this helps.