Bonehead,
Thanx for the advice! I guess I was hesitant to 'do more damage' by prying it apart but I can understand now that it is the best/only way to get this done right.

No worries about fire; no oil/flammables in this tank for quite some time...it had just collected (unintentionally) 45+ gallons of rain water in it with no oil sheen or film present.

Thanks again!

__________________
Never a dull moment at Berry Hill Farm.