I ended up getting my 1/2" ratchet driver down in the crack, batted the wrench out of sight, and reached up from underneath to grab it. I will stuff rags down there--thanks Kerry. Nice to know rule #1 about a job after having broken it
I will be MUCH more inclined to chase down these discrepancies/unscrew the wires/plugs once it's not freezing outside. I am moving to Austin, TX later this year, so in the mean time, i think this will go onto the list of things the mechanic will look at in the upcoming week. I don't know if you guys remember but I posted a month or so ago about a whole mess of front end rebuild work, with parts prices and labor quotes. The unanimous decision was that the mechanic was very reasonably priced. So, the wagon goes off to get $1600 worth of bushings and whatnot installed.....here's the link to that thread, in case you're curious:
http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/showthread.php?t=210145
Luckily I just got married this past fall, so we're putting all our wedding gift money toward this laundry list of fixes for our car. The wife is behind it. Without this money we couldn't afford to do this, no matter how reasonably priced it is. $1600 is a lot to put into a car that ostensibly runs well enough. Alas.
Thanks again for all your guys' help! This forum makes jobs easier; lacking a proper set of tools and buying faulty meters makes it frustrating...and all you can do is smile
(and go broke)