i've been told that the car should be level when draining the tranny fluid but the car's too low to get to the plug. do you have to jack the car up in order to remove the tranny plug? should i jack the car up to loosen the plug and then release the jack and finish unscrewing the plug with my hand?

 

i have had my tranny flushed twice at my friend's xpress lube. it was done from a pit, so the car was level.

just like you said, i would jack it up, loosen the plug, lower it, then drain it.