How do you go about changing your tranny? Can a tranny be taken out without removing the motor? What tricks do you use to get the top bolts out?

 

Rotate all hardware counterclockwise. Get out of the way.

Yes.

None; not sure how they could be fooled, anyway? I just rotate them counterclockwise several turns, without further trickery. Usually seems to work fine. I use a short box-end wrench, from above, reaching down. Total piece of cake.

 

funny-ness aside, first remove the 3 bolts holding the torque converter to the flexplate. Next, mark the position of the dizzy cap, then remove it. Then mark the position of the rotor relative to the whole dizzy, not just the cap. Then mark the position of the dizzy relative to both the firewall and the intake manifold.
Doing this will help you re-set the timing after the trans swap, plus keep you from breaking things.
Now remove the dizzy, noticing how the rotor turns as you lift it out. You may want to mark that position as well.
Next, undo the TV cable.
Now, you can get to the upper bolts for bellhousing-to-block.
Now you should be done up top.