anybody find it unusually difficult to split the motor from the tranny?

when theres bolts still in place yes.. although sometimes nudging does help if all said fasteners have been removed

place a jack at the differential and raise it up until the motor mounts rise out of the holes on the crossmenber.

 

lf the motor is stuck against the bellhousing(it would be if the motor was never pulled berofe) you can start a small screwdriver with a hammer between the motor and the tranny working from the sides and down to wherew the dowels would be. once you get enough gap you can go with a larger screwdriver and then a crowbar of some sort...

ya, it just took some wiggling and it popped right out.

when you install the engine, be sure to clean all surfaces and put some anti-seize on the bolts/dowelpins, if it's hard to pull out, it's going to give you hell putting it back in :-p (if you don't clean/grease it)