Factory service manual versus real expierence

You can certainly do that. You'll need to fabricate some method of supporting the trans while pulling the engine. What engine is this? small block V8? Slant?

I'm thinking that in the case of the stant, you need to be VERY careful to get proper lift points, or the thing will be unbalanced, flop to one side, and bind up.

Essentially, you support the trans, pull the dust cover, converter bolts, and install a scrap metal stop in the bottom bell holes to keep the converter from falling out.

But the other thing you oughta ask yourself, "is the transmission really in good shape?"

That is, oil seals, leaky gaskets, rear bushing/ seal, etc, would be a lot easier to deal with once you have it out, and a good excuse to clean 'er all up, too.