So I'm trying to get the timing cover off and it won't budge. I've triple checked that I have all the bolts off (Including the 'hidden one') been tapping away with a plastic hammer to no avail. I'm hesitant to use any prying solutions. Any ideas?

 

bolts that connect to the oil pan?

 

Yep, both of them.

 

Are you trying to get the timing cover off with both the head and oil pan still on??

Most times with the head off I just take a small screw driver and small hammer and tap between the block and timing cover till it pops loose

 

If it's not budging, you're missing a bolt. My only trick here is to focus only on the thru bolts in the cover. Any threaded hole that doesn't pass all the way through the cover isn't holding the cover on to the block, so ignore all those, unless of course they have an accessory bracket on them that's causing the problem.

I was in your same boat until I flipped over the new timing cover and looked only at thru holes, then double-checked just those bolts. I found the one I was overlooking and it came right off with some fist tapping too the water snout thingy.

 

Well I had all the bolts. tapping on the sides wasn't working, so with a piece of 2x2 I was able to position myself behind the cover and tab forward. That did the trip and I was able to get it off!

 

Good! But that's just the beginning. If you had such a tight fit I wonder how your head gasket looks in the area that overhangs the block. Plenty of cleaning and quality FIPG in there will seal it back up nicely, and I'm sure you'll run into some other issues along the way but look around it seems like everyone has done this job at some point.