The throttle body is connected to the intake manifold and the intake manifold is connected to the head. So yes while it is possible to keep both intact while removing the head, it will add a lot of weight and complexity to the removal. It can be done.
A blown headgasket will provide certain symptoms such as bubbles in the coolant, coolant smell from the exhaust, oil mixing in the coolant causing that "milkshake" appearance, and your engine overheating.