That is a lovely piece that you built to do the final assembly of the tranny, but it is working against you when it comes to disassembly.

1) put the pan back on.
2) tighten the 2nd gear band
3) lay the trans on a flat surface on the pan.
4) take all the bolts out of the front pump assembly
5) get a good length of chain with end links big enough to pass a 3/8" NC bolt with a washer. There are two places on the front pump that are threaded for above, assemble your chain to those places and holding one hand on the case, whip the chain and it will pull the front pump w/o a slide hammer.

1st time I used this method was over 30 years ago. Works every time.

I have seen guys do something similar in the dirt at the yard, they just pull the pump bolts, pick up the tranny and drop it. Of course this is only the start of the disassembly, read the book. If you think you need bushings, take the parts to a tranny shop and have them install them while you watch, if possible.