Gentleman,
Thanks to all who responded. I got the hood open by sliding a 12", 3/8" drive wobble extension with a 5/8" socket on the end between the hood and the grill. Zapped the two latch mounting bolts this way and she flung open, latch still attached to the hood! I pryed up on the hood with one hand and slid the extension+socket in with the other.
Here's what was wrong. The cable is retained to the latch via a rubber boot that clips into a c-shaped section of the latch mechanism. This had pried loose, relieving all tension on the line, and preventing the latch from opening. Snapped her back into place and it opens fine once again.
Doc