UPDATE:

I put the tranny together yesterday. Today I put it back in, filled it up, turned the key and...crap. The starter solenoid clicked briefly, then nothing. Tested the battery, fine. Tested the starter, fine. Just for giggles, hooked my OBD2 scanner up to it...NO LINK. Shut the ignition switch off for 30 seconds and tried again, NO LINK. Unhooked the battery for a few minutes...NO LINK. This scanner has worked on this car many times. So, either my computer decided to take a crap at the most convenient time it could find, or maybe the gear range selector switch is off somehow (which doesn't explain the NO LINK). Keep in mind the battery was unhooked for the last 6 weeks or so during the rebuild. Anyone have any ideas???