With my slave cylinder solid in the fully extended position, it looks like I need to crowbar the clutch fork into the closed position to expel all the air. In the same thread they also say using a vacum bleeding system

I have had the same issues multiple times. There are three things you need to do.
1. Make sure youu have the slave cylinder rotated so that the bleeder nipple is at the top.
2. Jack the rear higher than the front of the car.
3. You must use a pry bar and push the actuator rod or clutch release lever so you fully collapse the slave cylinder. This is critical. Without doing this there is no way to get the air out. You might even want to block the lever collapsed with a little wedge while you bleed the system.
Also after you bleed either brakes or clutches it is sometimes a good idea to come back to them and do it again after you have soem time on the car. Small amounts of air usually migrate to the end points.
I just went through this on my LeMons race car rear calipers. They are the 105/115 design without parking brakes and it was impossible to get the air out without fully collapsing the pistons.