Drain plug that wouldn't quit cost me a full weekend in Tucson

Last month in my driveway in Tucson, I went to change the diff fluid on my 2004 Tacoma and the drain plug would not budge. Broke two socket adapters and stripped the hex head clean. Previous owner must have used red Loctite or just torqued it with an impact gun. I tried heat, I tried an extractor, nothing worked. Ended up pulling the entire front differential out on a Saturday, which took six hours because of rusted bolts. Once it was on the bench, I drilled the plug out and retapped the hole. That was the only option. Cost me $40 in taps and a whole weekend. Has anyone else had luck with those plug extractor sockets on stubborn diff plugs, or is dropping the housing the standard move?