cable snapped today just as I was pulling into the parking lot at work. How much time should I be lookin at putting into this?

Also, does the engine have to be dropped to do so?

i put one in trojandad's in 20 minutes....

Yeah, it's pretty easy. You'll have to disconnect it from the pedal end first. There's a snap retainer thingy that you pop off, then unscrew the end so it's just a cable with a threaded end. Can be crowded working in the footwell. Then disconnect the end from the clutch fork and the whole thing slides out from the engine bay side. Replacing is the reverse, slide it in from the engine side, screw on the tunbuckle end, connect to the pedal and snap the retainer back on. Then climb to the back and wrap the cable around the pulley and connect to the clutch fork. Adjust the cable and you're done.

sweetness.

I was kind of looking for an excuse to drop the engine...

after you detach the old one from the pedal cluster, tape the new one to broken end so when you pull the old one out from the front, the new is in place. You will avoid tangleing it around the accelorator cable that way too. Probally need a bunch of washers to take up the slack where it attaches on the tranny end.