Get a core block and rebuild it right for under $500. IF you know how to take it apart, it's not that big a deal to reassemble it... I haven't seen one fail like that.. I wonder if it ran out of oil or something? A failure 2 hours later is suspicious.

A chevy 350 will work, of course, but read all about the cooling issues you'll run into. Nevermind that your driveline wasn't designed for that kind of brute torque - you're talking a few thou if you can do the fab to get it in there.

The number of wires required to run a 22R is minimal.. It doesn't suprise me that the wiring is hacked up.

IF it's already geared, might want to stick to something with similar manners as a 22R.. 2RZ, 3RZ - otherwise add a regear to the list of "todo" for the 350 swap.