I spent over an hour on it injecting steam into the little vents and finally got the cover off. I damaged the foam on the back of the cover; looks like where it forms a duct or baffle along the side. I said it might work without the cover at all, but pretty sure it won't because that's where the thermostat is.
I got it all back together and it's cooling. Down to 73°, it started at 77. I probably need to order a replacement panel assembly (includes the fan and maybe the temperature sensor.) From what I can tell, repairmen just routinely destroy it and replace it, that's probably cheaper than the labor to get it loose without damaging it.
Make sure the vents along the back of the freezer aren't blocked. Leave at least a ½" clearance in front of them as that is where the refrigerator gets it's cooling from. BT;DT.
Thanks, I've been there too with 2-door fridges with the freezer on top, but this one has french doors on top with a freezer drawer on the bottom, so it's totally different.
I need a beer but none is cold. And there's no ice because we dumped it in a cooler to keep the milk and cream cold until I got the thing working again.