I've always used STP oil goop. It jsut seems thicker and more likely to be lingering int he bearings by the time you actually fire it up.

Don't use RTV silicone sealer - pretty much anywhere. I never have good results form that. Esp around hot motor oil, it just separates from what it was supposed to stick and lets the oil seep. I've had better luck with that old school Indian head Shellac, in the little brown bottles.

You can remove the distributor and drive gear, and stick something down and drive the oil pump directly, but generally speaking, that's a bit of a waste of effort IMO. Just pull the plug wire, crank for 5 - 10 seconds until the oil light goes out, then put the plug wire back on. Err, and then spend 20 minutes figuring out why it *still* won't start!! :^P

With assembly lube, the cranking shouldn't hurt anything, and the cranking gets the oil filter and passageways filled with oil so it gets pressure the instant it fires up.
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'63 PV544 rat rod, '93 Classic #1141 245 +t