I was able to finish installing my new hatch struts today. I still need to reinstall the interior trim panels, but that should not take too long.
I am not replacing my rear window struts, yes I know I should, but I rarely use the window, and the current ones are still working well.
I have included a few photos which may help someone in the future. The first is of my bungee cord solution to holding the hatch up. By adjusting the tension of the cords (assuming you have a bungee cord that is adjustable) you can easily adjust the height of the hatch to line up with the new strut during installation.
One tip I have to add to Wayne's excellent write up is the rear connection point is accessible from behind and from underneath. Here is a photo of the rear most ball connector (it has a yellow hue from the hatch struts grease) and the unconnected hatch strut (it is black to the right of the ball connector.)
I snapped the front connection in first then adjusted the hatch height with the bungee cords, once the ball and socket connections were lined up I used a long screwdriver from the rear to snap the hatch strut into the ball attachment point.
It will be nice not having the hatch fall on my head. It is a fairly simple project. Anyone interested in this DIY project should read Wayne's write up AND of course support our host by purchasing the struts from them.