Had a nice day off from work to play in the garage:)
I finally got the block scrubbed with hot water and soap to get rid of any honing grit and more importantly, to make sure the oil galleries were clean.
Then, I used a half of a can of WD-40 and compressed air to dry the block, before flash rust started to form.
http://i1012.photobucket.com/albums/...ps6c2d5aa5.jpg
Then after that, I spent the afternoon checking piston ring gaps, and then installing the new rings onto the cleaned, original pistons.