Scratch 5 bikies, get 6 opinions! Sincere thanks for your thoughts. If we were in normal times, I'd take one of the wheel-building classes offered locally and try doing it myself, with guidance and proper tools. Not possible. Or I'd take the wheel in to a local shop and chew it over with the staff. As it is, bike shops are not too friendly these days - by appointment or wait outside, escorted in, very busy, not conducive to open-ended discussions.
My bike is 31 years old and I'm almost 60. Not likely to get a new road bike, or to sink many hundreds of dollars into this old bike (which I nevertheless love). Just want to treat it right and make it pleasant and responsive for weekend adventures, and maybe a duathlon next year. Could justify max $250 to $300 for a wheel, whether purchased or built.
The other thing is, we are in the dry season in Seattle. I don't have spare wheels, and if I did something destructive like cutting the spokes, replacing all the nipples, or delivering the old wheel to a wheelbuilder, I'm out of commission for weeks.
So what I think I'm going to do for now is ride with the wobbles until the rains come in October. Sometime in the next few months, I'll get a freewheel tool and open up the hub (I'm reasonably confident I can overhaul the hub - used to do it when I was in college). And see if the cups and cones are in good shape. After that, decide whether I need a new hub or can re-use the old one, and get a wheel built. It seems like there are used 126mm freewheel and uniglide hubs on ebay all the time. Thanks everybody! - Vince Slupski (for Bill who doesn't trust anybody who won't use his real name, haha)