Big Thanks to all who posted in this thread, I've finished my valvebody rebuild/install and have a couple of suggestions to help others in this task:

--I made a scrap wood template of the valve body and drilled out the bolt hole locations--then stuck the valvebody bolts in the appropriate hole as I removed them--made reassembly much easier

--I used a small foam paint roller to apply a thin film of vaseline to both sides of the separator plate and stuck the gaskets on--really helps to keep the gaskets in place

-- My 96 Blazer needed to have the rear of the tranny raised in order to reinstall the pan-(I destroyed the B solenoid trying to install the pan without raising the trans)--using a 2x4 skinny side up on a jack and raising at the two crossmember studs is just enough

--I put trash can lid under the pan when I removed it to catch the fluid-then I transferred the fluid to a measured container (milk jug) as well as the fluid that later accumulated (valve body, constant drips etc)--this allowed me to refill pretty accurately

--The accumulator rod falls out after a while--but you just push it back in, it needs steady pressure for a few seconds before it holds in place

--ruined a couple of perfectly good work shirts--messy messy--

Again thanks to all for the guidance