Chosen Solution

Trying to perform a screen replacement. The small side screws with washers are extremely hard to remove! I’ve gotten 4 out of 6 of them. My hand is killing me. Why are they so tight? Is there some trick to get them out?

No theres no trick. The best way would be to put your phone to its side and apply firm pressure downward on the screw while unscrewing them. If there is any trick, itd be to just LOOSEN all 6 of the screws. I emphasize loosen because you can just unscrew them halfway and pull out the lcd assembly as a whole.