I bought the special tool and struggled for 45 minutes to get it to bite enough to pull the old seal. I ended up dropping the pan and removing the valve body and I was glad I did. Super easy to get the old one out, and I think made it easier to pull the new one in with a clamp, socket, washers, etc.
Unfortunately for me, once that leak was fixed, it moved to the front seal or TQ, so I decided to have the transmission rebuilt.