One sort of pain in the neck thing that has to be done is removing engine oil pan, oil pump, and rear main bearing cap & rear seal in order to swap the short torque converter mounting bolts for the longer stick shift flywheel mounting bolts… a MUST DO!…..
Also…I think it’s much easier to remove the engine/transmission as a unit, and do most of the conversion work in the open, as opposed to working under the car…. Good luck!..Ed