Yup I got this all done and completed. I am an independent forklift tech. I took the cylinder to a hydraulic shop for the rebuild. I've never removed a single telescopic cylinder like this before.

This project takes a few blocks and chains to be safe. You really have to think about each step before you remove something else. There are a couple YouTube videos of this job as well. I luckily had a over head crane to remove the heavy cylinder once I got it all disconnected.