I'm on my way out to give this a shot. Thanks a bunch for the info. The wooden panel is already missing some pieces so I'm going to try to do it from the top side...it might be a little faster for me. Since I have to take a 2 hour trip later this AM I'm going with the quicker way for now. That said, I will not rush it b/c I know what it's like to lose little pieces like that.

I saw something about that famed fader switch but can deal wlith that now anyway. Now that I know how to get that whole piece off I'll be getting down in there soon to clean it out b/c the shifter boot is torn at the bottom & it's been getting crud in it. Gonna make a new boot for it so I don't keep losing things down it.

I'll report back in a bit with my findings. Thanks