Charles - yes the hub does have that enlarged part - where the drive side is a larger diameter than the rest of the hub. But now I'm leaning back toward just getting the cassette anyway, because I'm likely going to sell this bike since it doesn't fit me well.

Antipodes - thanks for the info. I already have the chain - in fact that's what started all of this (new chain on worn cassette = skipping).

Thanks everyone for your replies.