Thanks Carmikey,
I got help from a better set of eyes and both popped off as intended. Use WD40 as the issue is stuck terminals as much as releasing the clip. For the sender (3 wires) note that the big rib in the center of the connector is not the split point. The male end is only a stub around 12mm long.
In both cases, a plastic toothpic can be pushed up between the male/female sides to release the clip. But it still takes twice as much force as you would like to apply to break the stiction.
Yes, posting pictures would help........
SB