i just use a piece of vinyl hose. to change ATF: warm the engine! drain the fluid! crank the engine/drivedrain w/ the starter -- disconnect something in the ignition so it won't fire. let cool! close all the valves/stopcocks/etc.... fill w/ the specified amount of ATF. run to the nearest transmission rebuild shop!
transmissions are tricky. i have rebuilt more engines than i can remember, but only one tranny by myself (a mistake). feel free to baby it. having the ATF analyzed is never a bad idea.