Help ! Can I remove the trans, but not the converter ?

I'm in the midst of pulling the drive train from my Barracuda, and installing it in my Duster, and I kind of in a rush. It's a 6.1/727 combo. I have the engine, and trans out, and sitting on a pallet right now. I figure it would be easiest to do transmission maintenance now that it's available. Can I just unbolt the bell housing, and slide the transmission backward. ( inspection plate, and starter are off.) The last time I tried this on a slant 6 engine, it gave me a hell of a fight with the input shaft. I had to wiggle the trans back, and forth, and was afraid I'd break the damn thing.
Any short cuts would be appreciated.:D