OK, Chris, I'm not so sure. When I tested the transaxle flow, I did so by starting the car while my son held the open transaxle lines into a small bucket. (We were trying to determine once and for all the flow direction.)
We didn't get any flow at all with the engine running. So, we proceeded to jack up the rear of the car and then repeated the test withe the rear tires in the air and slowly letting out the clutch. We got flow!
However, it occurs to me that what we should have tried (and perhaps you did), is letting the engine run with the clutch out. This would have allowed the main shaft of the transaxle to spin and it is likely that the pump would be driven. In short, your method could have very well worked - assuming you were "clutch out".
We didn't get any flow at all with the engine running. So, we proceeded to jack up the rear of the car and then repeated the test withe the rear tires in the air and slowly letting out the clutch. We got flow!
However, it occurs to me that what we should have tried (and perhaps you did), is letting the engine run with the clutch out. This would have allowed the main shaft of the transaxle to spin and it is likely that the pump would be driven. In short, your method could have very well worked - assuming you were "clutch out".