allright, this is kind of old now, but just to close the thread; i got an electric aux pump and was ready to do the fix, but when i touched the hose going from the engine block to the heater core, it was entirely too loose.
turned out, the coolant smell was from it leaking into the tiny opening between the firewall and the heater core line entering the engine compartment.
dieseladdict had the best idea, but steveo had the solution. thanks for the help guys