OK as a follow up. The pickle fork arrived. I got it inserted an whacked away with my 3 lb machinist hammer, and whacked and whacked and whacked. I was underneath the truck with maybe 6 inches of clearance. After whack 80 or 90 it finally popped off...geez. And then, Parkinson as always got the final laugh, the box with the new damper didn't have a nut and the Ford nut was the right diameter, 12mm, but the wrong pitch. I had to wait for the wife to get home to finish up.
The last shock came right off with the right tool for that job, a 21 mm combo ratchet wrench. Amazing difference in the ride quality.
Thanks for the advise folks.