I had success repairing two of my mac portables with Sad Macs after lengthy board repairs.

As for opening the batteries, its been quite some time since I opened one, I used a box cutter at a 45 degree angle to score the join in the plastic from memory (as deep as i could) then in fact bashed the corner to force it to crack open. This had the side effect of a chip in the plastic.

The alternative considering you are in the USA is to get Ni-Cad lady to rebuild them for you

I dont know what her charge is, but I got a couple from there about 3 years ago and they are still working now, even thou I poorly treated them.