Taylor powered home a header early in the second half that helped play-off hopefuls Tranmere claim a 1-1 draw, with James Perch saving Forest's blushes with a 72nd minute equaliser.
It was a dour opening to the game with both teams struggling to hold on to possession for more than a few seconds at a time and chances were at a minimum.
Forest's first effort did not come until the 11th minute when a speculative 35-yard shot from Nathan Tyson took a deflection that took all the pace off the ball and left John Achterberg with an easy save.
And it was Tranmere who came closest to scoring as they finally carved out two chances in quick succession from set-pieces.
The first saw former Forest man Taylor cause panic in the home defence with a headed knock-down into the box but Shane Sherriff fired wildly over the bar from close range.
And within a minute the Tranmnere skipper was off target again as Chris Shuker fired in a free-kick from the left that picked the full-back out unmarked on the edge of the six-yard box only for Sherriff to prod over the bar for a second time.
Finally Forest found some genuine attacking menace of their own as they carved out two quick chances of their own.
A teasing Kris Commons cross from the left picked out Tyson perfectly on the edge of the six-yard box but the striker saw his glancing header cannon back off the underside of the bar.
Then when Tyson beat keeper Achterberg in the race to collect a long ball from Sammy Clingan, the Tranmere goal looked exposed again but Chris McCready did well to clear the striker's cross out of the path of Commons.
The Tranmere keeper was injured in the collision with Tyson and had to be replaced by substitute Gavin Ward, while Forest themselves lost a key player before half-time as Commons limped off with a hamstring injury and was replaced by Junior Agogo.
Robbie Stockdale had to produce a fine sliding block to deny Tyson as he threatened to convert Grant Holt's driven cross-shot at the far post, although Forest did survive a penalty scare when Ian Breckin hacked down Shuker on the edge of the box.
It proved to be a decisive moment as, within four minutes of the restart, the visitors powered their way into the lead as Paul McLaren fired in a pinpoint cross from the left and Taylor made no mistake, thundering home an unstoppable header from six yards.
With Forest pressuring for an equaliser, Tranmere came close to snatching a second as Chris Greenacre bent a 20-yard effort narrowly wide of the post.
But the home side's persistence was ultimately to pay off as John Curtis powered to the byline and cut a neat ball back into the path of Perch, who made no mistake with a powerful driven effort that shot into the bottom corner.