Configurable Joint 2D Equivalent?

I'm doing a game with similar mechanics to "Cut the Rope" - I actually have a system that works quite well - I use a Configurable Joint on each Rope Anchor, and connect it to a "Player Object", and set its linear limit to the length of the rope. I then use a Verlet method to generate a rope mesh which sags etc (but the physics are all controlled by the Config Joint).

However, it's a 2D game, using the 3D physics (rigidbodies etc) with axis restrictions- and 4.3 dropped, I'm trying to convert my system over, so I can use 2d collides etc, and make things more efficient.

I'm running into an issue with my rope system in that I'm not sure how to replace the configurable joint I use with a 2D equivalent.

My first thought was to use a Slider Joint 2D, to handle the variable length, but that didn't produce good results.

I then tried to use it in conjunction with a Hinge Joint 2D (with the hinge as the parent), which worked a bit better, and I could get a pendulum motion going, but would still have issues when the "Player Object" would fall from above, with the Hinge Joint at some angle - the Slider Joint wouldn't seem to contract, but instead the force would make the Hinge Joint rotate faster - which kind of makes physical sense if I think of a Slider which can only slide on one axis.

The Configurable Joint actually has its angular motion locked, and just moves along X and Y (I don't completely understand this...but it works).

Is there a 2D Joint or some combination that would allow movement along X and Y similar to a config joint, or some other method I could use to make this work?

Here is my code to initialize the Config Joint:

         //Adding a configurable joint to the rope anchor
         cj = anchorObject.AddComponent<ConfigurableJoint>();
 
         cj.anchor = Vector3.zero;
         cj.axis = Vector3.zero;
         cj.autoConfigureConnectedAnchor = false;
         cj.connectedAnchor = Vector3.zero;
         cj.secondaryAxis = Vector3.zero;
 
         cj.linearLimit = new SoftJointLimit() { limit = targetLength, bounciness = 0, damper = 0, spring = 0 };
 
         //We want to limit motion along the X and Y axis, to a maximum distance of "targetLength", and of course lock motion on the Z axis
         cj.xMotion = ConfigurableJointMotion.Limited;
         cj.yMotion = ConfigurableJointMotion.Limited;
         cj.zMotion = ConfigurableJointMotion.Locked;
 
         //The configurable joint doesn't need to rotate, but makes no difference if it's set to Locked or Free (don't really understand why at the moment)
         cj.angularXMotion = ConfigurableJointMotion.Locked;
         cj.angularYMotion = ConfigurableJointMotion.Locked;
         cj.angularZMotion = ConfigurableJointMotion.Locked;
 
         //Attach the configurable joint to the player's rigidbody
         cj.connectedBody = connectedObject.rigidbody;