Chosen Solution

do I drop the subframe

@scfoster according to the manual you need to : Disconnect the negative battery cable Remove the battery and the battery tray Remove the air cleaner component Remove the front tires and splash shield Remove the steering gear and power steering pipe Remove the front auto leveling sensor Drain the atf Here is the part from the manual that describes the automatic transaxle etc. Mazda_6-Automatic-Transaxle.pdf

YouTube has several step by step videos. Also check out Mazda 6 club forum.