pulling a slant 6 out without the tranny attached

Get "flare plugs" at a hardware store to cap off the tranny cooler lines. If you don't remove the torque converter, the front won't leak. Still, I would first pull the pan and drain the oil & change the filter, unless you did that recently.

First put a metal strap on the torque converter to hold it fully in and help support the weight. The Haynes manual shows that. It is critical that you insure the pads on the torque converter are >1/2" back from the front of the case before bolting to the engine. If not, keep rotating and jiggling it until BOTH SHAFTS fall into place. Otherwise, you will destroy the front pump in jamming them together. I missed that in my dumF kid days (should have bought a manual). If you switch to a later engine, you may need a spacer ring for the cranshaft hole (read).