hell i didn't know anything either when i did mine.. i'm all self-taught. hardest thing i ever did before my swap was brake pads...... imo it's quite a bit easier to install a m/t than a/t (a/t is heavier and bulkier and the mounts are a bit more of a pita to install), and the rest of the stuff (shifter and pedal) aren't really that tough either. whoever it is that's helping put in a new a/t, i could probably tell them step by step how to do the swap, if they're of a higher mechanical level than you. but if the car is your DD and you gotta have it runing, then it maybe isn't worth the risk of messing something up (ie crossthreading/snapping important bolts)

uh, the tranny does have alot of miles on it, but it still shifts just fine. i was using it on my own car before i upgraded to the VLSD 5spd tranny that came out of a VE car. the swap itself isn't THAT difficult, as long as your bolts and stuff aren't very rusted-on. If they are, it can get a little more tricky, just making sure you don't shear any bolt heads or strip threads, etc. the 'hard' part is drilling the hole in the firewall for the clutch master cylinder (mainly getting a template accurate enough so that the holes will line up properly the first time). the other 'hard' part is aligning the clutch if you are not able to remove the thick pilot bushing from the automatic to replace it with the narrower bushing for the manual. If you just leave the auto bushing in, you have to get the pressureplate bolts FINGER tight, install the tranny temporarily, tighten the PP bolts through the starter hole enough to hold the clutch disc tightly, remove tranny, then go and torque-down all the pp bolts. then reinstall the trans permanently.

if you have a drill w/ 1.5" metal-approved hole-saw, a good set of sockets (also you'd need a 27mm and a deep 36mm), a big breaker bar for the axle nuts, 1/2" and 3/8" torque wrenches, and a decent jack (preferrably rent a tranny jack) you can do it in a weekend. i did NC90GXE's 5spd swap in weeknights (from like 1830 to 2300 each day) and waiting on parts to arrive at our local parts store. 2 full days over a weekend with parts-in-hand before starting i could have finished mid-day sunday.

hey where do you live? i have a full 5spd-swap setup you can buy for $400 (pedal, shifter, trans, mounts, etc) only thing missing is the flywheel.