Door panel disaster

[Multibeemer]

Ugh... I'm trying to remove the right rear door panel from our 2003 X5 so I can remove the door lock mechanism, which has stopped working. I followed the video I found on youtube to the letter - I removed all three of the T20 torx screws, unhooked the door latch connector, and went around and successfully removed all of the plastic door clips without damaging any of them. But when I tried removing the top part of the panel by pulling straight back (as opposed to pulling upward as you would on a front panel) to release the five metal clips, disaster struck. With great effort, I got a few of them to release, but the panel is stuck tight right at the trim piece that separates the main window from the quarter window (I tried posting a picture, but despite shrinking it down to a miniscule 114KB, the site is telling me it's too large - definitely not my day...). So tight, in fact, that I tore the panel! Aaaarrrrgggghhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I've removed and replaced at least a dozen door panels, most recently as part of the window regulator replacement on the drivers side front door of the X5, and nothing remotely as bad as this has ever happened. Has this ever happened to anybody before? Any tips on how to get the door to release its death grip on the panel so I can get on to the task of troubleshooting the door lock mechanism? And any ideas as to where to get a new panel that won't cost an arm and a leg? Thanks.