been years since i shipped a large item like this... who is the best to ship it thru? appr any ideas guys thanks dan

Depends on where it is being sent/delivered to and how. I would have it truck shipped via the trucking companies hub if possible. If the company who you chose doesn't have lift gate truck they may not deliver it to a residence only a business(with a dock or a forklift to remove it) I had a hood shipped this way and picked it up at the companies trucking hub(they didn't deliver to residences). Of course you will have to band it to a skid or make a shipping crate for it. It's possible you may find someone on uship(or similar) that would ship it for you.

Fastenal. Strap it to a pallet and drop it off.

Wonder if it's better to ship vertically (bellhousing down, of course) or horizontally ?

Horizontally so you can control the front to rear and as well as the side-to-side movement with 2X4 nail on the pallet around the pan and then strap it down with the little rachet straps like you can buy at Harbor Freight or other places that I don't know about

I shipped an A500 from Jacksonville, FL to Waco, TX via YRC back in July 2022 after building a heavy duty wooden crate. The shipping weght was 185lbs. Going it cost $125. The return trip was nearly double the price $220 in October 2022. I'm guessing the price of diesel had an effect on the price increase.

shipping it to a friendly business place you visit and buy items often, such as my local ACE hardware, would be the best [in my opinion]
they have a forklift that unloads awkward and bulky items almost daily, and if you have a good rapport with them, they would probably receive this item for you.
my local lumber yard ships and receives UPS, as well as other freight items daily, so that might be another option as well.

Another vote for Fastenal - you just need to strap the transmission to a pallet and take it to your nearest Fastenal location. You can check the price beforehand by going to this link:

https://www.fastenal.com/fast/blue-lane-freight

I have used YRC to ship 3 transmissions from Tennessee to Washington state and back. Took about a week each way, and had no problems. Strapped it to a pallet, then shrink wrapped it.