OK I did as porkface suggested and dropped the rear exhaust. I did it in stages, lowering the tranny some, then lowering the exhaust some. By the time I was finished, the exhaust was resting on the floor jack which was in the full down position. This allowed the transmission to lower considerably more. Of course I had loosened the fan shroud prior to beginning. Thanks porkface!

On to the next issue... My KTC Tools bushing installer did not seem up to the task. I don't know if it wasn't long enough, or if the part of the tool where you insert the bushing was to small. The bushing fit very loosely on the insert. Or maybe I was doing something wrong. But either way, I tested it on the transmission sitting on my workbench and found the bushing would just squish and was never going to make it past the lip.

So, I cut the bushing, and then cut another small slice of to make it smaller in diameter. I test fit it on the workbench transmission and it went on, but even then not that easily. I navigated it onto its final destination with some tape and two large flathead screwdrivers. After enough cussing it was installed.

Shifting is now very crisp. Pain in the but alert on this repair though!