Hi,
No need to change the port. You should keep in mind that, there will be always a value at the port pins, either logic0 or logic1. Normally logic0 .i.e. 0V will be default.
If the pin produces logic0, then even if you pull up, the data lines will show 0volts only.
Simply set the pins as output and write a 1 (logic1) to those pins.