If you are going to remove the tranny why not just drop the engine too?
Removing the engine from the trans is the hardest part of dropping the engine
in my opinion.  You can either unplug all the wires and mark them or if you
have an earlier Vanagon (1.9l) it is really easy to leave the engine wiring
harness installed and just set it on top of the motor.  Just unhook a few
coolant lines, the accelerator cable, unhook two fuel hoses, vacuum hose,
alternator wires, and grounding strap and drop her down.  It will also make
removing the tranny a snap.  I just did a head gasket replacement in the van.
 In the future if I can drop the motor to do this job, I will!  It is a pain
doing it in the van.  I would be way easier doing it on a bench somewhere and
then moving the motor back to the van and putting it back in.
Just my opinion.  (Heaven knows I've pulled enough Vanagon motors in my day.)
Ken Wilford
Van-Again
John 3:16