Downshifting will always be more work and require more skill. As far as the test goes, my personal opinion is that if you can get passed the pre-trip and skills test, the road test is practically a piece of cake, given your current experience.
The pre-trip is easy to ace, if you apply yourself and take it seriously. The deal on the skills test, at least in this state, is that if you're going to hit a cone, you can always make another pass and try it again, ie, right hand turn. On the alley dock, the biggest thing is to not go passed the "dock." You'll lose far less stopping short. Straight backs are quite easy- simply don't turn the wheel wildly- 1/4 turn is max. Practice. (It really is easy to straightline.) I didn't have to parallel or serpentine, so have nothing to add on that. Right hand with a 53'- start turning after duals line up with cone (assuming something like 260" wheelbase, or so.) Stay out on the line- I was within inches of it when doing right hands, and that worked good for me.
#6 of CumminsCowboy's list. Don't worry about pull-ups- hitting the cones is the deal breaker. But don't short yourself on a pull-up.
I'm sure you'll do fine on the road test, having done the B.
edit: on the 45deg alley back, I'd clock the wheel all the way to the right, honk the horn, put it in reverse and back up until I saw the farthest leg of the landing gear just coming into view, then start clocking the wheel back to the left. I did pretty bad on the actual test compared to my practice- could get it in the hole and line up straight 9 out of 10 times in practice. Need the duals pretty tight on the cone to get it in there straight.
post edit: the setup for the 45 is about the same as the right hand turn- stay tight to the line, waight for the duals to line up with the cone, turn, aim for the cone, bring right side of the bumper right up to the cone. Convex mirrors on the fender help with this if you have them.
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My trainer told me that I was doing very well up shifting but, I needed practice on down shifting. So, I practiced on that mostly today as we were driving back to the yard.
