Can't say much about the lift situation, but:
When you decide to have your tranny done, I can recommend a good builder in the East Bay. Might not be real close to you, but I have endured the pain of bad transmission builds (AAMCO!) and would not wish that on anyone.
Keith's transmission in Hayward. It's worth a trip to talk to the boss, Mike.
http://www.yelp.com/biz/keiths-trans...-castro-valley
I have not had work done by him, but while I was dealing with the AAMCO fiasco I went and talked to Mike and wish I had.
Nick