Truck Forums - 727 Transmission

I added a mild cam, aluminum intake, Edelbrock 4 barrel, and headers to my 318. I removed the engine to do this work. The engine went back in as easily as it came out. Everything bolted up fine. The cam was broke in per the instruction guide, but this was done with the kick down rod not connected. The kick down lever on the transmission was in a free state. All linkages are in place now, but the transmission will do nothing.
At this point the trans was unbolted and slid back for inspection. The trans dip stick tube needed to be removed so the trans could be slid back. I lost approx. 3/4 of a quart of trans fluid when the tube was removed. That didn't seem right. There were no other obvious leaks and confirmed that the torque converter was engaged to the trans correctly. We lost approx. a quart and a half to two quarts of trans fluid during the inspection process (dip stick tube removal and from the tail shaft). Put everything back together correctly. Started the engine, put the trans in natural and ran the engine at 1200 RPM for 10 mins to ensure the torque converter was full. Checked the trans fluid level with the trans in natural and the level is perfect. This is after we lost 2 and 3/4 quarts of trans fluid. The fluid in the trans is red and clean. No signs of being burnt.
Tried putting the trans in gear and still nothing.
The trans was working perfectly before the engine was removed.
Does anyone have any suggestions or lessons learned?