Plastic portion of sensor stuck in wiring harness housing

1988 Civic dx 2dr, model specifications and fancy processes and tools don't matter on this one as much as experience with the unfortunate does. Plastic portion of my temp sensor is stuck in wiring harness housing as it broke off when I was trying to separate the two. Clearly it was overdue for a swap as my temp gauge is going crazy and is inaccurate and it just broke and is visibly brittle and past it's expiration date. I tried breaking any oil seal or dirt seal the housing might have with the plastic portion of the sensor with pliers and patience, I can get the sensor slid/rock back and forth inside the housing a tad, but it won't pull free. I barely have a nub to get good leverage to pull on, the more I pull the more it scrapes the plastic bulb that's protruding where it broke off and the more urgent my situation gets. Really am trying to avoid cutting this one, finding specifications, buying a new harness connector housing and splicing it. As well as minimize how much time I'm spending yanking on the wiring leading up to the connector. Any help or insight would be greatly appreciated.