I did this job on my 89 4 wd s-10 blazer and it sounds the same as yours.
My procedure as far as I can remember was to slacken the big front axle nut first and then to jack the vehicle up. I then removed the disk pads and unbolted the brake caliper and hung it out of the way. I then removed the brake disk. Then I removed the 3 18 or 19 mm bolts from behind the steering knuckle. I then pulled the hub/bearing assembly using a big 3 legged puller - it pulled right off. A slide hammer might work here but I had the puller. When using the puller put the nut back onto the drive shaft end to protect the threads should the center of the puller slip. I then pulled the brake splash shield off. Now I removed the tie rod end split pin and nut. I did the same with the upper and lower wishbone balljoints. Now the I split the tie rod end ball joint and then I split the top and bottom wishbone balljoints with a wedge and lump hammer. Now I was able to pull the steering knuckle out. Watch the oil seal at the back of the steeering knuckle. This might not be a bad time to replace this bearing oil/grease seal. I was able to use a white plastic plumbing end cap fitting to drift the new seal in place. it is one of the wide threaded plastic blanking fittings that have the square male end to them - it fitted perfectly. Check out Lowes plumbing department. The bottom balljoint had been replaced before so that was easy. On the top balljoint I drilled out the rivet heads and drove them out with a suitably sized drift. I started with a small drill to drill a pilot hole and then used bigger drills. If you are careful you can use an angle grinder to grind down the head of the balljoint securing rivets but don't cut into the wishbone itself.
I hope this helps.
Mark