Thing I've noticed with the Tokarev is you're still supposed to take the bushing/recoil plug/spring out the front end before you take the slide off the frame or you're likely to kink the recoil spring, as with the 1911, but apparently I'm the only person who actually does it that way if the YouTube videos are to be believed. The Tokarev's lockwork is an order of magnitude less complicated though.
Fun fact: I can strip and reassemble a Tokarev entirely using only my right hand. Getting the spring and bushing back in involves equal parts pain, magic, and creative use of work surfaces.
Thinking about it now, you may be better off turning the guide rod to a slightly smaller diameter and using dual coaxial springs to get more power in a shorter fully-compressed length. Finding a spring of the right inside and outside diameter, power, and fully compressed length - especially considering it also has to fit what, an inch? Less space than you'd normally have because of the shortened slide - is going to be a pain. Wolff doesn't list the power of their replacement recoil springs on their page, but I suppose you could email them and ask them. Then make the total spring power 4lb-6lb greater than stock, and trim off half a ring at a time from one of the springs while test-firing until it cycles reliably. Important thing to remember about doing a dual spring setup like that is to make sure the inside and outside springs turn in opposite directions, otherwise the coils will get tangled up in each other and cause the gun to short-stroke.