Rattle between block and trans?

did you say no dust shield between engine and trans? You are kinda inviting disaster. That little dust shield is all you have between sucking up rocks or gawd knows what debris into the bell housing. There is not a lot of clearance in there, if a rock finds its way in there, it may find a way out thru the cast aluminum. It could take out the starter nose, maybe even the converter. It can cause an inordinate amount of grief compared to the time and material it takes to replace that shield.