Thanks for the help and pictures!
I was able to unlock the steering lock by gently turning the wheel to the left while applying slight pressure to turn the key. There was a very slight clicking noise when turning the wheel to the left which corresponded with the exact moment that the key could be turned.

I found some music wire at the hardware store that showed very close to 1.5mm based on my analog calipers (can't find my digital ones..) Even with that, which was much more resilient than a paperclip, I can not get the pin to disengage. I might mess with it a bit more, but I'm probably going to break down and take it in to a locksmith.

I was able to remove the steering lock using a short flathead screwdriver, a mirror, and a lot of patience. It was extremely worn out, very little spring pressure compared to the new OE piece I bought. I replaced it using new allen head screws, (4mm x 7 pitch, if memory serves) which were much easier to install. This fixed the problem that was causing my heater to not work unless I wiggled the key after starting the car. (Fan cuts out when you start the car, the spring did not return the ignition switch back to the "Run" mode completely, causing the fan to stay disengaged)

One note to anyone attempting this procedure, the ignition lock I ordered turned out to be a different part number with a slightly different design (on the old one there was a plastic key piece that rotated between the connector's pins, the new one was missing that) The different part seems to work just fine, so don't panic too much when you see that they are not identical.