Heh...
The rear brake lines are a serious PITA to replace. Best bet is to get the thing waaaaaaay up in the air as best you can--the fittings on the body are very tough to get to as you have already noticed. Removing the clips, even, is a real pain. I know some people who prefer to drop the engine to get at them... No, I'm not kidding.... But then, some I know prefer to drop the engine when they check the oil level! (Almost.)
Oil: With filter, 4 quarts works very well. Overfilling by up to a half-quart is a Good Thing generally, as it gives you a little more oil to heat up and to stay near the pickup tube in corners, and it's not enough to hurt anything.
Transmission fluid: Change it, don't bother checking it. Remove the fill plug
FIRST! Always always always!!! Use a 17mm Allen socket, or a VW Bug "transmission wrench"--they use the same drain and fill plugs as we do. Then remove the drain plug and catch all the oil and metal shavings coming out. (Some is normal, but having oil that is full of silvery flecks is bad.)
Get 3 quarts of a good gear oil--I prefer Swepco. You'll likely only use 2 quarts, or possibly a bit more, but having too much is better than not having enough. Use a "marine flush kit" (available at your
Friendly
Local
Auto
Parts
Store)--a hand-pump which fits on quart bottles--to pump the gear oil up into the transmission fill hole. There is a similar pump avaliable for gallon bottles if you wind up buying those instead. The transmission is full when the level is just even with the bottom of the fill hole--assuming the car is level, which is very rarely the case when you're under the back of it...
...And as they've all said, welcome to your new obsession. Many times you will wonder if it's worth all the heartache, skinned knuckles, money, and sweat. But the first tight corner you take, under perfect control, at stupid-fast speeds will tell you "HELL YES IT IS!!!"
--DD