See, that's what I need to hear. Good advice. I got the gears working tonight but they're still rough. I think the gear cable got kinked at the front and now it doesn't slide very freely. There's also a large gap between 2nd and 3rd where NO hub is engaged and it freewheels; that can be dangerous.

I took it on it's first "mission" tonight- over to Walgreens to pick up a few things.

EDIT: I'm not sure what you mean by "the cap between the spokes" but I oiled all the other areas around the hub (3M household oil is the best I got on hand). Seems to be shifting a little more readily.