I agree it's a real PITA! It seems like all of the hoses an wires are in your way and the shaft is really close to the frame. Especially enjoyable in cold weather! HAHA
Just for anyone that may have trouble getting the steering shaft off the box, mine would not pull off the splines until I completely removed the bolt. This is on a 1999 c3500. I was doing this on a bench and it looked like having the clamp bolt through the hole, it was catching on the machined...