transmisson gurus

im in the market for a new transmission and dont have ay extra money to waste to buy one only to find out its a beat up one.

so is there a way to tell while its out with no fluid in it if its in good or bad shape?

i know the easy stuff like excessive play on the input shaft or shit falling out of the diff or the gear selector stuck but is there anything else to look for? any noises that should or shouldnt be hear while rotating the input shaft?

thanks in advance