So, I ended up detaching the hinges and lifting the hood from the back. I had to reach in with my sawzall and cut the loop on the hood. Not what I really had planned to do, but had no choice. The spring had fallen out of the latch and even hooking it with a coat hanger or pushing it with a screwdriver, would not have worked. I am going to replace the latch and have the loop welded back on to the hood. I hope nobody has this problem, but thought I would share.