so, i've gotten a little more work done. as i am reassembling i'm inspecting each and every piece and selecting the best one from either tranny... i came across this predicament: 5th gear on one tranny has a good syncro coupler. the other one has a good gear. they're not really made to be pressed apart, but i tried and it's not really moving very much... i can get a new one for about 100 bucks... more than i paid for both tranny's combined.
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the teeth on the gear chipped when i tried in vain to pull it... i eventually got it off by cutting the shaft.. but also unfortunately i wasn't so careful when i cut the shaft and the side of the gear had a small contact with the cutting wheel. i think i need to continue trying to swap them.