I absolutely will not put a booted or repaired tyre on the front. Of course, the fallacy of this position is that the rear tyre carries significantly more load than the front, in turn putting more stress on the boot or patch.
You're absolutely right that's why I asked. I too had a blow-out in the front coming down hill around a turn. Managed to stay up but not a good feeling.
You should be able to get a tire back on using nothing more than your hands. What I do is put talic inside the tire and spread it around so everything slides/glides easily. I don't know, works for me. Of course it helps if you have big hands.