I recently had to rebuild my 5spd zf trans, I did the removal and reinstall myself. Pretty easy if you have done this sort of work before, nothing out of the normal.
Took me about 4 hours to take it out and about 4 back in, drinking beer and not rushing. Costs were $1200 for parts and fluid (all zf factory parts and fluid, seal kit, steels and friction disks) torque converter was expensive at $700 and I payed a local shop $900 to perform the overhaul. Hope this gives u a little insight