Hehe... it can be pretty frustrating.
I was tryin' w/a friend and we finally folded; went to the local parts store (O'Reily's) and picked up a 'large gear puller' that looked like this:
http://www.zukiworld.com/month_070102/images/rockcrawler_dl/step21.jpg
It was only like $7? They make'em with 3 prongs too that'd probably be easier, this one kinda slipped off a couple times.
I've done it before without one, it's pretty rough. If you EVER need to remove a windsheild wiper, it'd come in real handy then too; they're just as bad.
What's so frustrating is that it's so simple. Just pull straight up.
