I also strip as much off the motor as possible for additional clearance, and drain as many of the fluids as possible. I mostly pulled the trans at the same time, because even if you pull the converter bolts (which you aren't able to do), it always seems to pop out and then makes the separation much more difficult. I have a carb plate that has the 3 holes to hook to the crane, but it does not work anywhere near as easily as the equalizer bar, plus you are relying on 4 of 5/16 bolts versus 4 of a 3/8 bolts. I always would use longer grade 8 bolts on the 4 corners of the intake. 2 people is a highly recommended as you can't be in 2 places at once. Extra hands = safer job. Keep in mind to get it out of the engine bay, you will be placing a lot of weight very high in the air, so make sure the crane can move smoothly and doesn't tip sideways. You will almost always need to lift the transmission tail shaft over the radiator support. You will need to plug the rear tail shaft-there are very inexpensive plugs available or you will make a huge mess as all the fluid shift to the back of the transmission as the angle changes coming out. Once out the separation of the transmission will be much easier.
HTH
