Les, I am currently digging through my pile of postponed projects. What I meant by "wrong approach" is that the object, I figured, should not be trying to modify a "39 transmission" to accept a certain OD unit. I saw going the easier route of using the entire OD transmission and substituting a modified top-loader case into which all of the OD transmission gears/mainshaft would, of course, fit.
Your concerns about the reverse lockout routing have me questioning my memory ... so I'l be digging out some "study material" from under the work bench.
You mentioned getting rid of distractions. I hope you realize that building a top-loader OD transmission was itself a distraction that diverted me away from other distractions. My hobby is working on one distraction after another.
I appreciate your good work and will post some thoughts if something doesn't fall on me.