First I'm just offering this as a suggestion because I would not do something so stupid as to weld my exhaust to my headers. I'm saying disconnect the 4 bolts like you already have on the cross member and then disconnect the transmission one Bolt from the crossmember then with a jack lift the transmission up in the air up against the tunnel and then try and slip to cross member out at that point and this is just a suggestion to try and get around the last persons Jack Wheeling as I like to call it.
So what you're saying I can pull the trans with the cross still in place by sliding the it back into the tunnel till the shaft clears and then dropping it out? Is there enough room to do this?
I'll have to do some measuring to see it will work.