I hear ya about the top bolts. That's where a 3in extension on your socket becomes your best friend.
Unfortunately, the biggest pain in the head for me was the top bolt on the crossmember on the passenger side....it never did come out, so the tranny was pulled with that still in place hanging down on one side. Spent 1.5 hours on that bolt.
Mental note - remove the top bolts first on the crossmembers, and then the bottom bolts.
I did find that the torque converter bolts were the easiest...had all six out in about 5 minutes. I was used to turning the engine with the 27mm socket from previously draining the torque converter.
Yeah, rebuilding....think I will pass on that one. Too much effort for the result gained when you can swap, but I bet it's gratifying to have completed that task.
How much easier is the engine going to be with the tranny out?