Thanks for the advice. I completed the job this afternoon. I walked over to the local Ace Hardware and picked up a 4lb sledge. I placed a 28 mm socket with 3 inch extension over the axle stub and gave it about 50 to 60 good wacks. It finally broke loose. Socket is okay, but it put a flare on the end of the extension. Also, you guys are correct - the ball joint does just pop out once you get the strut to the correct angle. I found the best angle was with the wheel on and the car on the ground. It just popped right off. Good to know, since I cut the boot during my struggle with it yesterday :-(

Getting the axle out of the transmission was a little tricky. I got a prybar on one side and a long screwdriver on the other and leveraging both at the same time popped it out.

If I had to do the job again tomorrow I could do it in 2 hours without destorying my core or my ball joint, so I guess I'll chalk this up to learning.

Thanks,
Dave