LANmine

Thanks for the info! I ended up finding that both the radiator fan and the fan on top of my case were dead, which caused the case to overheat and make the cooling loop dry up. I got a new cooler (Corsair H60) that came with a fan (yay!) and installed it with the thermal paste that came pre-coated on the cooling block. Everything works fine now (y)
 
Sorry I took so long to reply btw, I've been busy with school/work (finals are coming up D:)
 
 

I got it off! I think all the isopropyl alcohol I used last night seeped in between the CPU and the cooling block, and it was a lot easier to take off. I'll see if I can get some good thermal paste, although I'd rather just use some paste I already have. Keeping my case dust free and clean is probably the best way to prevent this from happening again. Although I will mention that the paste that caused this problem was the pre-applied paste that came with the cooler, so I guess that explains a few things.
 
Thanks everyone for your help!
 
Edit: I also took an inflatable mattress's inflation fan to the inside, outside and fan ports on my PC case. No more dust anywhere (y)

Gotcha. I'll try prying it off as gently as possible. I have some 70% isopropyl alcohol right next to me, although I know 91 or 99% are probably more effective for that. The gap between the cpu and cooler is zero from what I see, but I'll try the alcohol anyways. Wish me luck D: