Thanks for the feed back everyone, and definitely thanks for the quote on the labor soomething to think about... but being a student doesnt leave me with many options i am pretty broke... right now its in my garage i have 4 jack stands and a 3 ton floor jack a pretty good set of ratchets and sockets, also the guys i have working on this with me. one was a heavy mechanic and the other is a tech from bmw.I know they are the very best of help but between the 3 of us i hope we have the strength, tools, and know-how to tackle any problem that may arise.
if i am taking the advice correctly i should replace rear main seal, torque converter, and be sure to have equipment to manage the weight and difficulty of a transmission swap..