Scott,
Now that you have gripped the needle(s) with pliers, you may as well go ahead and "get rough" with them. It takes only the slightest pressure with pliers to ruin the needle right where it spends most of its run time. This is not to lecture or criticize. I often enough have to take this tack myself with needles that have been in the pistons a long time. They do become stuck. Sometimes, hot water will loosen things up due to different rates of expansion for the different materials involved, but not all that often.
What I usually do when I know a needle is stuck enough to be a "gonner" is grip the needle down close to the piston with a pair of cutting pliers, being careful not to apply enough force to cut right through, and pry the needle upwards (away from the piston) by placing the open ends of the plier's jaws on the face of the piston. Then, apply force gradually so you can feel if things are giving way. Good luck.
Motorbill
From Lola to Land Rover, If it's British and has wheels, it's likely I've bloodied me knuckles thereupon