Hi Rightstuff,
After years as an avionics maintenance engineer and many hours spent up front with you guys, I reckon the most difficult bit is taxying to and from the runway; those charts look very complicated (and filling out the tech log; many of you guys can't add the hours).
I reckon that once at the end of the runway, engage A/T, let the brakes off and pull back on the column when the end of the runway gets close. After 1500' select AFCS CMD (or whatever) and navigate through the MCP or let the FMS do it. If it is too noisy, I've probably left the gear down.
As for landing...that's what autoland is for
