Parking brake is mechanical. Just make sure its released when you pull the calipers. Once everything is back together, check for proper retention of the parking brake. If it does not hold the car on a 6% slope you need to readjust the parking brake lever.
As for bleeding, i think the Ford manual states to bleed each corner 5 times, not the parking brake. Open the bleeder valve, let the air come out and when fluid is constant, close it. Do it 5 times and that is enough to pull enough fluid through the caliper that all air is removed from the lines.
As for ABS, i bled my brakes normally and did not have any issues. Some have reported a feeling of air trapped in due to the ABS ECU/HCU holding pressure. To release pressure on the ABS ECU/HCU you need the Ford IDS to tell the ABS RCU to electronically open the ABS HCU to allow bleeding to start.