Overheating issue I just bought a 2002 Ford Taurus. When driving it home, it started overheating on the freeway. The smoke smelled like antifreeze. I pulled over, let it cool down and put more water in it. Within a minute or two, all of the water came gushing out. I pulled the plastic overflow tank off and ran water through it to see if there was a leak in it. There was not. The water that came out was coming from the same area that the plastic tank sits. Could this possibly be my water pump or a hose? I'm not sure where to go from here or how to test potential problems. Any help would be greatly appreciated, thanks!

The big question is it overheating because of coolant loss (a leak or leaks) or is the overheating caused by a jammed thermostat, blocked radiator or the cooling fan not working.
This is the confusing chicken-and-egg situation that often faces the diagnostician, especially as when checked the coolant level is likely to be low in both cases and overheating can create coolant leaks...
Furthermore when an older engine overheats a lot or boils it can begin a chain of events that causes great expense and inconvenience over an extended period of time...

In your case it would seem the coolant is low because of a leak and that is what caused the overheating. Clearly you need to trace the leak and I can be of little help in the matter other than to suggest a hose can fail at any time and although regular inspections can greatly reduce the chances it can't entirely eliminate the possibility. Water pumps on the other hand, often aren't accessible for inspection without removing lots of stuff but they are generally very reliable and tend not to suddenly start gushing coolant. Most often they are responsible for a minor mystery coolant loss that gradually gets worse over an extended period.

I am wondering if the previous owner could have known something about the problem.

Locating the leak would generally mean getting under the car and removing any undershield components in order to narrow the area of the leak and then remove any further components until eyes can be rested on the actual source of the leak.