Your friend is an idiot...stop listening to him. The transmission swap has nothing to do with your emissions testing. As for swapping, the engine must be the same year as or newer than the car it is going into. All USDM smog equipment must be functional, correct USDM ECU used (correct application and OBD version), no check engine lights, pass visual testing (correct CARB #'s for aftermarket parts, visual inspection of smog equipment, and the engine looks like it's been swapped correctly), and then pass the sniff test.