Next Steps with pictures:
OK, so I did the pipe trick on the other side, and it worked great.
Some additional things NOT to do:
1) do not spray any penetrating oil or other solvents on the top of the insert in an attempt to free up the bottom.
This has the impact of A] causing more suction that you have to overcome when attempting to pull out the strut, and B] it dissolved the grease in the cap, causing a mess in the bottom of the strut tube.
I was able to resolve my issue by spraying WD-40 down in the strut tube, and then re-inserting the old insert a few times to force out the slop. Be advised that you need to cover the roll pin groove, as otherwise you may shoot grease and oil all over your garage.
So next steps for me is to re-pack molybedenuim grease in the grease track, and then reassemble everything.
Pictures Below:
1] lower half of strut, showing roll pin.
2] Side view of top of strut/insert, showing pipe, washer, and nut. Note that this is a newer insert because of the height of the dust cap, which is approx 1.46", or 37mm
3] top view of pipe and washers
4] Top of strut with insert removed... Note the grease inside the track in the cap is not consistent in quantity because I dissolved it in attempting to remove the insert
5] Lastly, a picture showing the original strut inserts as removed from the strut
