hey man, very glad to hear you got it fixed.

if you removed the lower a arm, i would definately have your truck aligned

as for removal and installation of the cv, i've done it quite a few times, once the truck is on jack stands (or just a floor jack in my case) you disconnect the cv from the diff, disconnect the shock, push down on the a arm for clearance at the studs on the diff, once clear, use another jack (or burly friend) to raise the a arm back up, once its raised back up, the whole cv comes out like butter. installation is reverse of removal. (watch out for shock mounts when lifting hub upwards, hold shock out of way or the mounts can get bent)

i know all of this is too late to help now, but there is always the other cv lurking...

glad its all back together