Welcome to the forum! I noticed you had the 02 donor like me, in the 02 FSM it does mention to remove the clutch release fork shaft (in the transmission section). Here's an excerpt:
trans.jpg
The first time I changed my clutch I too was wiggling my trans for a while before I figured out this trick. Also, a slide hammer isn't necessary - I just screwed in a 20-30mm M6 bolt and used a flat-head screw driver to pry on the head of the bolt and pull out the shaft. But your method works too.