I should have said 'toward the radiator' or some such thing; mechanic's perspective is always from a standing position in front of the vehicle looking at the windshield.
Haven't driven in sub-zero temps in quite a while, but I do remember my old '63 Dart slant-6 with that lovable 3-on-the-tree that was HELL to shift on a cold morning. Never had trouble cranking it though. Most everything I've driven in the last couple of decades used ATF in the tranny, which shifts nicely regardless of ambient temp. Don't know what the 6 in my TJL uses, but knowing DC, it won't be ATF.
I should probably qualify the original intent as more of a convienence than mechanical neccessity. If thrust and TO bearing failure was truly a problem due to clutch disengagement while dry firing the engine, Jeep would discontinue the clutch interlock circuit in a heartbeat.
Those concerns aside, it's NICE having it disconnected. Spent 4 hours yesterday purging all that dreaded Dex Cool, and being able to just reach in through the window to start 'er up was damn convienent.
Will H> I think you got the direction of the load bass-ackwards - pushing on