I don't think I ever encountered a GM with one but I've seen axles that had a roll pin through the union. Had to knock out the pin to get them apart. With these a slide hammer will usually get it.

Trouble with mine was my friend was unable to get it to pop loose from the hub, to even proceed to the point of pulling the shaft out

These don't have anything special. Did wheel bearings on my 1997 LeSabre (same platform) and it doesn't have anything special there. They're just rusted in place or something.

When they get really stuck you can pound on them all day long and never get them to budge. When this happens to me, I've often had good luck putting a really big puller on it, wind it up as tight as I dare, then pound on the end of the CV shaft with a sledge hammer by way of a big steel rod of some sort (using the rod to "reach' through the puller).

On one, I finally resorted to taking the nut off then driving it around for a few days. I just made a conscious effort to avoid situations that would extend the suspension a lot. That worked too.

Boilerplate: Do any of this at your own risk, for entertainment purposes only, professional driver on a closed course, past performance not indicative of future results, limit one per customer, no animals were harmed in the making of this post, etc. etc. yada yada.

how about using a torch to heat up around the axle shaft?
if you do, have a fire extinguisher or hose ready. safety first!

Oh I see I had it backwards. I've never had one so stuck a sledge wouldn't push it out.

I hired a mobile mechanic that I used on my other car, to do the work. He came over this morning had it replaced by the time I got home. Old one came out in 2 pieces, so am glad I got it done. axle shaft seal changed too. $120 labor for the whole job. So it'* ready to drive now.

It is driveable now, took it out for a drive around the block and it drove good. Took a few minutes for it to stay running upon cold start, but that should straighten out once the computer re learns things (battery was disconnected for about 6 months)

Yeah it should be all straightened out by now.