Transmission Leak HELP..

[phatfj]

This leak is on a transmission in a 1982 300sd. Pulled into the garage and when the care is running, there is a severe leak, I thought at first it was the pan gasket but upon closer inspection it is coming from a port above the pan on the passenger side. I borrowed a picture from another thread (not the same tranny but it has the same port) I circled the port in red. It seems to be leaking from the center cover, there is a snap ring with a metal shield behind it. I can remove the allen bolts if I need to.

Does the tranny need to be dropped to replace? Any useful information would be appreciated