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Barnsley were the better side in the first half but their inability to take chances once more proved their undoing and Blackpool raced away in a more one-sided second period.
Home striker Bruce Dyer missed a sitter in the ninth minute, side-footing wide with only keeper Phil Barnes to beat. Two minutes earlier, Chris Lumsdon had sliced wide with an equally good chance.
But Dyer made amends by putting Barnsley ahead in the 17th minute. He muscled his way past Simon Grayson and drilled a low left-footer past Barnes for his fifth goal of the season.
Both Alex Neil and Kevin Betsy squandered good openings as Barnsley went looking for a second goal.
It was not forthcoming and Blackpool made them pay with a 36th minute leveller, a 30-yard free-kick from John Hills being deflected past Andy Marriott.
Two goals in the space of 30 seconds early in the second half knocked the stuffing out of Barnsley - and sent Blackpool surging towards the next round.
Bustling forward John Murphy headed in a Paul Dalglish cross in the 49th minute and then almost immediately Lumsdon was caught in possession and the ball was slipped through for Dalglish to finish in style.
Substitute Scott Taylor made it 4-1 in the 70th minute with his first touch, a lovely left-footer that flew past Barnsley's substitute keeper Matthew Ghent, who had replaced the injured Marriott.
To make matters worse for Barnsley they missed a 76th minute penalty, Blackpool keeper Barnes guessing right to push away Lumsdon's spot-kick.
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However this really gives the wrong impression of the game, which was by no means one-sided, nor particularly dirty. Torquay scored first, and for much of the game it was not obvious which was the higher-class team. In the end the result was probably correct, but it took a long time before the visitors were forced to accept defeat
So severe was the Seasiders injury list that schoolboy, Phil Doughty, found himself on the substitutes bench and he eventually made his debut in the dying seconds.
The home side started brightly and Torquay's stand-in keeper, Keith Welch, had to be alert to deny Rick Wellens and Paul Dalglish inside the first minute.
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Blackpool equalised in the 20th minute when neat play by Wellens found Simon Grayson unmarked in the area. His shot was deflected by Welch but Reuben Hazell turned the ball into his own net.
Steve McMahon's side took the lead in the 56th minute when Scott Taylor volleyed home a John Murphy flick after a long ball from Danny Coid.
The visitors continued to press but Blackpool secured a victory in the 89th minute when substitute Richard Walker's cross missed everyone in the penalty area apart from Murphy who ended his personal goalscoring drought with a well-taken effort.
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He was joined by his team-mate Graham who said something which the referee decided was worthy of a red card.
Torquay boss Leroy Rosenior said after the match: "Graham's sending off was for dissent and he'll be fined heavily by the club but both sendings off came out of frustration with the poor standard of refereeing."McMahon added: "It's a good result given our injury situation. Hopefully we can get a big club in the third round."
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In the 3rd round Pool were drawn aagainst Crystal Palace again at home on 4th January 2003 in front of 9,062.
A Crystal Palace 64th minute penalty saved by Barnes only for Black to score on the rebound was enough to end the Seasiders cup dream in this 50th anniversary year. Only the post stopped the magnificent Tangerines from gaining a replay in the final moments.
Palace made it through to the fourth round of the FA Cup but only after a fine scrap against 1953 winners Blackpool.
The Seasiders went ahead early on and had the better of the play until Tommy Black's equaliser, but were unable to overcome an injury to defender Chris Clarke.
The home side's goal came after just nine minutes courtesy of an own goal by Tony Popovic who directed the ball into his own net as he tried to clear a Richie Wellens corner.
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The game was becoming increasingly niggly, not helped by an inconsistent refereeing performance from Mr Webster, best summed up by an unlikely yellow card given to John Murphy after the Blackpool striker appeared to have won the ball with a fair tackle.
The Seasiders almost doubled their advantage shortly before half time when Leam Richardson teed up Danny Coid in the area but the young full back shot narrowly over the bar.
A half-time reshuffle by Palace boss Trevor Francis saw Ade Akinbiyi replace Danny Granville and the attacking substitution paid dividends 11 minutes into the half.
With Clark off injured Blackpool dropped Keith Southern into the back four and he was beaten by Danny Butterfield who crossed to find Black unmarked in the area and his volley hit the back of the net.
Worse was to come for Steve McMahon's side six minutes later when Black was pulled down in the area and stepped up to take the penalty himself.
The striker's effort was saved brilliantly by Phil Barnes but the goalkeeper was let down badly by his team-mates who allowed Black to fire home the rebound.
McMahon said after the game: "It's been a battling performance by our side and they will be happy to come away with anything from the match." Trevor Francis said: "We were facing a Cup exit at half time but the change helped us and we took the game to them."