Again, I appreciate the advice. I'm certainly a noob at this.

OK, well, I'm tempted to just cut the felt and then silicone it back together but at the same time, I'm not sure when the knuckle bearings have been replaced, maybe never.

I think I'm hearing that a couple of you guys would go ahead and get the knuckle off and replace the knuckle bearings and felt seal. I have been soaking everything in PB and it was just put together last year, so maybe it won't be as bad as I imagine.
So, I think I'll go out and buy the "drift" (brass punch?).

I already have the Marlin knuckle rebuild kit, so I guess I'll get a bearing puller at the auto parts store as well.

Dingit, it'll take me another week to get this thing back together. And I suspect a couple of you guys could do it in a few hours.