hey thanks for all the replies. i do understand most of what im doing with the bike, but this confused me.
Now yes the new wheel fits just fine on the bike and i dont have the indexed sift levers, i have some old school shifters from and old road bike. so it looks like all i need is a 9 speed chain. This is great because the old one has a good 3,000-4,000 miles/1.25 years so i need a new one anyway.
thanks for all your help!