yep, you can run the Panther out of water for quite awhile, I broke my cam in with the pump hooked up, about 25 minutes at 2500 rpms.
The biggest differences are the main bearings of a Panther are constantly submerged in 90w gear oil that keeps them cool and the front seal is ceramic, also being cooled by the oil.
The main thing you should do is to make sure you grease the rear zerk fitting about every 20 hours or so. If you don't know where it's located, raise the reverse gate, look inside the nozzle and you will see it about 6in in.