OK, a plastic thingy and rubber skirt update:
out of 4 --
1...successfully removed 1 intact,
1...broke 1 partially on the flat part and then worked skirt around it;
2...removed skirt by working them around the whole, intact and installed plastic thingy.

i'm overjoyed. hey, it's all this little crap that always seems to take the time and cause the frustration.

anyway -- also went to the parts store but didn't find anything that looked like it would work at all -- is there a particular part (name, number?) that has worked for you?

thanks

btw, is it listed in the catalog as 'plastic thingy' or 'plastic thing'?

//bc