I appoligize, I misspoke, the fill is located on the top of the trans, under the air cleaner box, but the drain and level check are the same thing. To check, you remove just the center, to drain, you remove the tube that the center goes into.
The way to top off the fluid is to overfill it by ~ 0.5 qts, then start it, let the fluid reach 60* C (about 10 minutes of running should do the trick) then remove the center of the drain plug, fluid will run out, and when it starts to reach a trickle, refit the plug.
Your noise doesn't sound like it is from the trans, and really, this trans has been very good over the years. This engine is known to have a bit of a whine to it. I would start by checking the other fluids first, mainly power steering.
Is the noise something new?