Today I was able to remove the old wall studs and get some of the new studs installed.
While the AC repair person was at my house (AC fan broke over the weekend) I asked about moving the air duct. I found out that it was not needed so I don't need to worry or reconfigured any of the AC - that was great news.
I shopped around but couldn't find any pocket doors I like so it will end up being custom made.
Here's a garage wall layout drawing and a few photo:
