when I pull the lever there is no noticible "pop" that anything opened, pull over and over, even wedged a long screwdriver to move the knob to the right because its solid shut no visible loosening of the hood. happen to anybody else? sunny weather here in NYC too

 

Check the hood release mechanism under the dash to see of the cable is "loose". It should be snug and move when release is pulled. Cable might be disconnected at the release.

If cable is loose and connected to the release lever, the cable may be broken or separated from the under-hood hood latch mechanism.

If you remove the bumper (not too bad a job, but get a shop manual), you should be able to reach the hood latch mechanism and force the open lever to release the hood. It may help to find someone w/ same car and carefully observe the action of the release cable to understand what to push/pull.

good luck

 

Turns out the latch mechanism is dry or something. In order to open the hood I need a person in the front to lift the hood while i pull the lever open. (im curious if this could've been a result of driving in front of too many open hydrant water pumps?)

After seeing the problem himself a local guy told me to apply WD-40 and something else.......something I never heard of. I'll find out, apply it, and revisit this post for an update.

 

oh yea, and then to apply Lithium grease after WD40

 

This happened to me a few years ago I needed a second person to push down on the hood as I pulled the latch. Cord might be stretched, try lube after you open it. All the best.