Not a myth at all, I could not get my Amiga stable at all with the ACA1231/42Mhz, I got a lot of weird crashes/gurus within secons/minutes in a lot of programs/games and also WB crashes, after performing the timing fix on my 2B motherboard all issues dissapeared and everything have been working perfect since

You can read a bit about it on the link Lurch posted to get a better understanding why it's needed
http://www.ianstedman.co.uk/Amiga/amiga_hacks/A1200_Mobo_fix/a1200_mobo_fix.htmlThere are more technical information to find if you search around a bit.
No I never have removed a SMD component. Do I just heat either end with a small iron tip and use solderwick, then pry the component off the board gently?
There are a few different techniques to do so, all depends on what equipment you got, just google "remove SMD resistors" end see what feels doable for you, I myself use a SMD puller and a soldering iron and heat/pull/heat/pull and done, ive also done with a "tin sucker" (dont know the english name for it) and also tried with a desolder/heatgun. But to be safe don't use to high temerature when desoldering one.
But im planning on buying an SMD Rework Station to make life easier
