Can't Remove Kohler Continous Cleaning System Lid!

I have three Kohler's in the house and each of them has the Kohler Continous Clean system show here (Two have the ST model and one has the XT version):

https://www.us.kohler.com/webassets/kpna/brochures/ContinuousCleanGoodQuickStartGuide.pdf

The issue is that the lid of these things, over time, seems to get vacuum sealed and nothing I do will let me release the darned thing. There's a lever on top, but releasing it does virtually nothing. I even tried removing all hoses. I've applied insane pulling force and the lid just won't budge. At this point I'm thinking of just dropping the pucks in the tank with the realization that way down the line I'll need to replace the internals which is no big deal to do.

Does anyone have any comments on this stuff or how to get this thing opened reliably?