there is a low pressure switch , and a high pressure switch located in most ac systems , if one of these safety's is bad the compressor will short cycle or not run at all. the hot hot air, i would look first into my vaccume lines that control the heat/ac. i had just the opposite problem in a 98 taurus and found that a mouse or something had eaten one of my vaccume lines and as a result i got no heat at all. if an ac system has too much refrigerant in it you can lose superheat and slug your compressor, low referigerant levels will cause too much superheat and cause the compressor to get too hot . burnt refrigerant turns acidic and can ruin internal compressor parts as the referigerant cools the compressor. there is usualy a head pressure control valve (headmaster of sorts) which will make the high pressure reach a certain pressure/temperature point before it lets it go on to the condensor coil. this valve lets your ac run when outdoor ambient temp is below 60deg F for your defrost ect..