I "trued up" the manifold surfaces with a large aluminum block for flatness and 320 grit sandpaper. Goth them really nice and flat. Reinstalled it yesterday (hell - I got this "down-pat") and it worked great - no leaks - perfect.
So - to end this thread on a positive note, the manifolds can be removed easily - the drivers side takes a little finagling - the passenger side is a breeze.