Gen 2.5 (or probably any 3.5L..) transmission pan, how to drop dem draws?

[Shovel]

I crawled under there to dump the sump and put a new filter & fresh Mitsu Unicorn Tears in my transmission,  a job I've done on other vehicles numerous times -

But on this transmission the pan is partially covered by the crossmember & the dipstick tube is part of the pan. 

I am guessing that for the rear pan removal I just support the t-case with a jack (towel in cradle) and remove the trans mount bracket, right?

For the dipstick how's that handled?  Does the whole thing just snake down diagonally with the pan or are there retainers/snags/other awful things to deal with? 

Tips appreciated!

[Shovel]

Also - anyone know which trans cooler line is the output and which is the return?     I'm looking through FSM right now but in case I don't find it..

[jaccox]

Also - anyone know which trans cooler line is the output and which is the return?     I'm looking through FSM right now but in case I don't find it..

Pretty kinda sure/positive it is passenger side line on the radiator cooler. you'll need some kinda rubber hose to divert the flow downwards once it's coming out of the radiator. I like to use clear hose so i can see the color of the fluid since if the fluid is bad enough off you can actually see the change in color when the new has flushed out a majority of the old. As for the pan drop I opted out of that and just did the flush and refill so I have no input on that area

[MrGalantguy]

To remove the trans pan you will have to remove that support brace to access the backside bolts of the trans pan. Yes..you will have to support the trans/tcase to remove the brace and remove the bolts for the transmission mount.

The transmission dipstick is in 2 pieces, the top part of the tube is bolted to the motor accessible in the motor bay and the bottom part of the tube is bolted on the upper side of the transmission bell housing. You will need to remove the bolt on the upper side of the transmission bell housing to allow to remove the pan easily. There is a small o-ring where the 2 parts of the tube connect...I would replace it due to age and its cheap to replace and you would have to worry about potential leaks from there.

As far as the trans cooler lines...I am not for sure, but I think the feed is towards the front of the trans and the return is towards the rear.