I've done this and like he mentioned it is a huge pita. I loosened the motor mounts and jacked the engine up as high as I could. THis gives you about 2 inches of room to work with once you lower the pan. I also used string on the new gasket to try and fish it into place. I would say it was one of the worse jobs I have done, and on top of that, the new gasket leaked as well.
One thought I had, maybe its a good time to upgrade to a new tubular cross memeber lol