Just a followup. I installed the new pulley. OMG - What a difference!!

Shifting is very crisp now. Some minor shifting issues I had going from 6th to 7th have pretty much disappeared. I'm still getting a very occasional chain skip here and there, but my guess is that's about better adjustment.

I took a closer look at the old jockey pulley. It definitely has some wear and tear on the race part (bushing didn't look too bad at all), but I don't believe it is really all that serious. My sense is at the time this bike (and derailleur) was mfg'd (~1999), this particular jockey pulley was designed with a lot of slop in it...side to side and around the bushing. It seems to me that that was the technology at the time. Maybe I'm wrong, but it doesn't seem like it.

The new pulley has only side to side play, and I think that "tightens" up the adjustment spec and reduces forgiveness for sloppy alignment. It also has a slightly different marking than the old one does.

Anyway, I'm happy to have found new life for my bike.

Again thanks to those who offered their insight.

Much cheers.....Steph