Terminology quesitons

[The S is Silent]

The commonblock is the 89 and upper lower end.
The tall deck block is the 88 and prior 2.5 block.

Is a shortblock an assembled bottom end? I was having a friendly discussion with a fellow TDer and need to get some closure on this.

A longblock is a completely assembled engine?

[DUGZSHELBY]

Yes a short block is just the assembled lower end " may or may not include the oil pan".
A long block will include the head / heads and possibly the waterpump also depending on the engine.