ORIGINAL: Luv2Disco

The easiest and best solution is to simply take your truck to a driveline shop and have them remove, rebuild and replace your shaft for you. A competent shop will clean, paint, balance your shaft AND warranty the work. Good piece of mind if your tranny gets slappped, and isn't that why you want to do this in the first place? You should be able to get this done for less than $200 (parts and labor) depending on your location.

One last thing, many if not most mechanics will simply remove the shaft, take it to a driveline shop for rebuild, then re-install it themselves. Cut out the middle-man and go directly to the driveline shop! Really, this is no more complicated than getting your brakes done or similar work. Driveline shops just aren't as numerous so you may have to ask around. Good Luck!