thanks for tips.
Mike, i wasn't complaining ;-) - just 'lol'-ing semi-hysterically with relief that i'd finally got it out.
i just have a solder pump here.
yeah did consider just cutting it out at one point, but even that looked tricky and traumatic.
recommend anyone doing it has a test-run on a junk pcb first as a warm-up - which i did
consider this time, but it looked straightforward enough.
anyway: it's not too ugly, looking at it today. tested continuity, seems to be ok.
any info on what those pins are/where connected is welcome.
looking through it, doesn't seem to lead anywhere much, just test points.
at least it's only a 2-sided, rather than multi-layer, board.
still have pads on component side. think it'll be ok. gonna do a test before next stage.
taking photos as i go.