Lifter tick, It's AFM/DOD delete time - oil pump replacement too?

[iamdub]

@iamdub Can the oil pump be removed without unbolting the pickup tube? When I got in there the oil pump was very tight in there and I wasn't able to get it off the pickup tube with the pickup tube in place

I want to stick with stock performance, just replace the parts with non AFM DOD parts and eliminate the AFM DOD part of the ECU programming. I've seen youtube videos where they loosen/lower just a little to access to a oil pump bolt, and are able to remove the oil pump without removing the oil pan. Has anyone done that? Here is a video for reference:

It's a tight PITA, and that video shows what's involved. What's more work- finagling it out or dropping the pan a little or all the way? I've always had the engines out of the vehicle.