remove needle from zerk fitting

[dmjlambert]

OK folks, I need somebody smart to tell me how it's done, please. I got out my new grease gun, loaded it with a cartridge, bled the air and squirt some grease in a trash can. I thought "that's great, I'm all set." I put a needle that has a zerk on it onto the grease gun hose, and used it to inject some grease. Worked fine.

Now I can't get the needle off, no way no how. Is there a trick to this?
I have tried putting the needle zerk in a vise and pulling, twisting, jerking, flipping, finessing, prying with screwdrivers, and as a last resort, cussing. I loosened the fitting on the grease gun hose end, which according to all I've read, watched videos of, and experienced in my years, is supposed to make it let go of a zerk. The zerk swivels around on the fitting just fine and just like I expect. I completely removed the fitting from the hose now. I hope you guys just tell me something stupid I've done and I can have a V8 moment.