I've done it with and without pulling the wheel. I pulled one about three weeks ago without removing the wheel because I needed to get moving on it and didn't have any money to rent a puller with. The one I did before that I got lucky and the wheel came off on its own with a firm pull.

You definitely don't have to pull the wheel, but I personally found it a lot easier to get the dash out by pulling it. Dropping the column helps, but not as much as taking it out. It's a classic time/patience vs money scenario. Go with whatever you have more of.

One thing I will say is that if you pull the wheel, mark the inside of the wheel and the spindle with a paint pen or something so you can put it back on straight. The first time I pulled one, I found out the hard way that it isn't as easy to eyeball it as it might seem. If you get it wrong, it won't mess anything up, but your hands will always feel "wrong" on the wheel when you are driving. That drove me nuts. You might also confuse some techs when you take it in for an alignment if your wheel isn't on straight too. That happened to a local guy here. He spent a few days not being able to make hard right turns before he could get it back to the shop to get it fixed.