Just an update for anyone who might need this question answered in the future...
if this ever happens to anyone, you have 1 of 2 choices.
1) Drop the transmission valve body and replace the conductor plate
2) Drop the transmission valve body and retrieve the snapped screw

I chose to replace the conductor plate because the car is new to me and it has 88k on the clock (and after seeing the mess I made, I never want to drop that transmission pan ever again).

I'm including a couple of photos to show the snapped screw and the pliers I used to retreive the broken screw. It was pretty easy to retrieve.







Now, if you do replace the conductor plate, take a couple of minutes and check that all the shift solenoids are functioning properly. I used this chart to check the resistance of all of mine.



Hope this info helps someone in the future.