This patch against PyTextile 2.0.8 prevents textile from adding a newline to the first line of a pre-block.
--- textile.py~ 2004-06-25 13:24:09.000000000 +0200
+++ textile.py 2004-09-03 14:00:53.000000000 +0200
@@ -1239,7 +1239,7 @@
attributes = self.parse_params(parameters, clear)
# Build the tag.
- open_tag = self.build_open_tag('pre', attributes) + '\n'
+ open_tag = self.build_open_tag('pre', attributes)
close_tag = '\n</pre>'
# Replace < and >.