[ithacaartist]

It sounds as though the spring guide is just bound up in an area it wasn't particularly intended to navigate... The tab should be just fine because it is in its slot, we'll see if it is somehow buggered up after removal.

Wrap it in leather, hold in small vice grips, tap back end onto hard wood, just like one of those momentum bullet-pulling mallets. Do it in a setup which will conserve the guide and spring as they shoot out. Oil certainly won't hurt. Expanding the breech block with a little heat is a good idea, too. To maximize the effect, put the assembly into the deep freeze for a while before you heat the outside with a heat gun. Prying and tweezing would be an absolute last resort, but mitigated a bit by using non-marring tools or padding.