I found one other post that refers to the difficulty in removing the outer bolt holding the hydraulic cylinder in place. That post said it took some prying. There is sheet metal (double thickness due to a seam) preventing the bolt from pulling out enough to remove the cylinder. I tried prying, no budge. Short of a jack hammer or dynamite, is there a trick to this?

I would suggest removing the three bolts that attach the brace to the body. This is the part that has the bolt running through to the cylinder. You will need to do this on both sides. Then you can pull the frame up and out of the car. Once you clear the quarters you can remove the cylinders. You will need to realign the top after you reinstall.
If you need pictures, let us know.

A fairly new top is presently installed on the frame, must the top vinyl be removed? Apparently the Pontiac manual is very wrong in it's instructions for this job. Is this not beyond the scope of a amateur mechanic?

I would suggest you remove the bracket that holds the piston. that's what I did, and it comes out nicely - slides down and out. Then you can remove the outer bolt with out any problem. You can leave the top where it is and accomplish this.

Oops, I misread colorado's response. Ditto, and use a 2x4 to support the frame bar so it does not scratch the inner wheel house.