get phpmyadmin password from wp_config

Hi Folks
Ive been asked to look at a WP install 3.0.4 using MySQL 4
And I want opt backup the database as its NEVER been done.
However I dont know the login details for the the phpmyadmin

I can get the username from wp-config which I have from FTP file backup
but the password that is in wp-config doesnt work.

The password string in wp-config is just random characters instead of a phrase or something a person might remember so I am wondering if the password here in wp-config is encoded after blog setup or something? and if it is, is there anyway to decode it? I have tried using the random string but it doesnt work

phpmyadmin gives the below error when trying to login:
#1045 – Access denied for user ‘username’@’mysql5-webhost-ie’ (using password: YES)

I also cant add new users from the hosting cp as the hosting package restricts db users to 1. arrrgghhh! >.<

many thanks for any help