update: last night i did a lot of sucking and blowing (get your mind out the gutter) with my shop vac directly in the skimmer line.

I have a feeling the clog was not leaves but actually undissolved de that caked up in the pipe.

I was able to suck up a vacuum full of de water and the pressure going down the skimmer has improved greatly.

I am soaking my de fingers in muriatic acid right now and hope that the pressure will finally go down.

I used a leaf eater vacuum (garden hose hookup) to pull a lot of leaves out last night. That was a lot better than using the filter vac.