i supported the spindle with a jack and released the top shock bolt (had to remove the fenders) on each side. one side came right down and the other needed a little pushing. tightened the adjuster back up, dropped the car, ran to the store and bought some high-quality Gabriel Road-Ryder shocks
(only temp in order to tow the car, needed today) and slapped them on. looks like a monster truck now compared to the seeing it slammed for 10 years. fenders are back on and wiring up the towing wires.
thanks for the help guys. hope this saves the next guy some time.
still thought the adjusters would go up and not down. ????