Well done Duane. Yea- they are a **** to get out of the "blind hole" as well! We source most of our parts these days from TVH, and the axle seal they provide is as you say. No area to tap the new seal in. I sent a complaint to my rep- but never got anything resolve. So I go OEM only now on these seals. You probably noticed- there are two slots on the backside of the carrier supports. After you pull the four 5/16 NF nuts and lock washers, you can use two small heel bars to walk the housing out. Generally these days, I like to build one side, reassemble and install the axle end back in. This keeps the carrier lifted up by the opposite axle shaft and helps in reinstalling the carrier support.
Completed them this weekend. Pretty straight forward the carrier came right out on one side, the other I had to fight with it a little. The drive gear seal, the rubber had separated from the metal housing so it was just flopping around in there.
The seals are little tricky to seat because you have to tap them in with the open side up. On the old seals they had a solid surface on both sides, but the new ones were like a normal oil seal. Flat surface on one side and open on the other.
You have to use some type of flat object (I used a big flat washer and a big socket) so you don't damage the backside of the seal.