I think you are perhaps conflating some concepts here. Hydro lock damage to connecting rods can only occur if the cylinders themselves are full of oil, which is not the case with a flooded sump. Cranking an engine with a fully flooded sump can certainly do other damage, such as blow out front and rear crank seals.
Your advice to check the oil before driving after a long layup is spot on. Much grief can be avoided simply by figuring out how much oil really is in the sump before trying to start.
Most X-wedge engines do not have a significant issue with wet sumping, as evidenced by the small number of comments here on the forum. My own car indicates much less than half a quart in the sump even after it's 4-5 month winter layup. Those that do have a serious issue must have an oil pump with greater than intended internal clearances, or perhaps are running a zero weight oil (like 0-40, or 0-50).
FWIW I run 20-50 Valvoline, spec'd for use in air cooled V twins.
