When a sodium atom reacts with a chlorine atom to form a compound the electron configurations of the ions forming the compound are the same as those of noble gas atoms?

That is correct. A noble gas (or at least all the noble gas elements heavier than helium) has an electron configuration of 8 electrons in its outer shell, and the sodium and chlorine ions in sodium chloride also have 8 electrons in their outer shell, just like a noble gas atom.