I finally got it. My drain has no set screw, it had a small pin that went thru the brass rod, and locked into place to hold the stopper. It had broken, so the stopper would sin endlessly. I raised it up, put an awl into the hole, and the drain stopper spun off easily. Unfortunately, the brass rod dropped down into the drain. Now, I am going to remove the entire assembly, and replace with a much better design. I have googled for days, read a bazillion opinions, and all stated there would be a screw to deal with. mine had no such screw.
