You can cheat the slide hammer by putting the drum back on backwords and putting the lugs on about a dozen turns or so, using the drum for a slide hammer.
The slide hammer is much easier if you've got one.
No, they just pull out from the dif. See the shop manual for a good set of instructions. You'll need a slide hammer and grip to pull axles. If they've been in since the flood, they're not coming out quickly. They will just slide out of the tubes when you get thel splines to let go.
IMO the stubborn part of removing axles is not the splines, but breaking the crap found around the axle bearings. If your splines are stuck to the carrier I would check the condition of the splines as a precaution.