yea i finally got the damn thing in with lots of grease and my foot. h:

i took the linkage off so i could get better leverage. i got half of it in and laid it on the ground then stood on it with one foot till it popped in. the one under the shifter was easy as cake.

while i was under there i found there were a few cracks on the tranny that were welded up which could explain why fluid was leaking when i took that bolt off.