You are correvt about the train issue, I live 10 minutes from a station, and it is quicker to walk to the airport than go via Stockport. It's even quicker than getting the 369 bus!
As for T3, it's a shambles, the number of times I've asked "Where is T3?" In T1 is stupid. Why did they close the airside link T1-T3, and why is there nothing landside other than the Spar and overpriced outlets. I miss my Maccas there