Craig,

You are so right about lube on the threads. A lot of good pullers get ruined for that reason.

A good rule of thumb:

If it moves, lube it. If it doesn't move, lube it.

Jeez, have you ever seen spelling like that before? Like Frank Barrone says, "Holy Crap!"

I'd put some PB Blaster on it, and give it a few sharp raps with a hammer on the puller, not hard pounds, but sharp raps. Then I let it sit and repeat as often as necesarry.