Hello,
I was just monkeying around to replace my head gasket and had the following difficulties. Here they are and the easy solutions:

1) After getting the bolts/nuts off at the head, I couldn't pull the manifold clear to lift the head off.
answer: There is a metal pipe going into the manifold where the pipes collect. This needs to be loosened and removed. Also, there is a bracket that mounts the downpipe to the tranny. There is one botl that holds it on. This should be removed.

2) There are a few wires on the head, a water temp sensor, another sensor, and a coolant hose located under the intake manifold. Don't forget to disconnect them before you try to lift off the head.

Thanks, I hope it goes smoothly for you. So far, I haven't foudn it necesary to remove the downpipe/manifold bolts, although I started to, I stopped when I realized they were going to snap off.

Peace