Other than the Mopar hard gasket, are there any others that anyone would recommend?
I am old school. I use cork or if I have to use it I use rubber with great results.
1. Make sure pan flange is flat. Often mechanics think tighten it more and it'll fix it and the dimple the pan at the bolt holes causing more leaks.
2. Add a little trans fliud to the pan and use it to coat the gasket. This will cause the gasket to swell a little and prevent it from sticking to the metal making removal less of a mess.
3. Install the pan snugging the bolts a little bit. I use a 1/4" ratchet to prevent going overboard. Repeat the bolt snugging process around the pan repeatedly until the gasket starts to squeeze out or the bolts stop getting snug. Every pass the pan around will cause the first bolts to be loose by the time you get to the last ones. You are done when they stop getting snug.
I pretty much never have pan leaks. Can't get that darn seal on top of the shift lever to not leak when the torque convertor drains back into the trans case but the pan doesn't leak.
I will say that I do like the newer style trans gaskets that are rigid and reusable but since a cork gasket comes with the filter I use them and save my money. Only a couple bucks but I am cheap.