Good to know thank you. Have you ever tried a puller of some sort? I was contemplating the possibility.
I did use a split-plate-style bearing puller on the components about halfway through pulling the yoke. It did make pulling the rest of the parts off a lot easier so I could wash everything. I was then able to use a hydraulic press at work to push the bearings back on.
Since i had so much trouble getting the yoke off, I touched the splines with a wire brush and some needle files until I could slip it on, and slathered the spline with grease before I bolted it back on.
