Well I got the trunk opened this evening.
79Mercy your suggestion was good and gave me an excuse to buy a mityvac, but that didn't work, but it was very much on the right track.
Lexxani your attitude was much less than helpful. The situation with the 123 last week was entirely different even if they were on the same subject. I don't think this is an entertainment forum. Is it?
Gilly, much as I hated to I did drill into the chrome piece after studying my 123 donor latch and praying they were similar, they were. The successful hole was straight in about 1/4" to the right of the button. I found replacement chrome on ebay before I drilled it so I'm ready to begin the engine transplant. By the way, the reason it wouldn't open was the the vacuum actuator. The screws holding it were missing and it had slid far enough to disengage the button even though the vacuum hadn't changed. I haven't really had a chance to drive or use the car much, since the engine was bad when I got it so I hadn't paid any attention. I undoubtedly bumped the cover and slid it without knowing the last time i put away tools.