They didn't have the cartridge at Home Depot, so I bought the seal kit thingy.
I am not anticipating a happy ending.....
My wife will no longer even
allow me to attempt any sort of plumbing repair.
My ego has always compelled me to try and fix plumbing problems myself, while my total lack of ability in that area inevitably makes an already bad situation even worse.
Our first home was tiny and it only had one bathroom. My attempt to replace a faulty toilet after work
on the night before Thanksgiving (when we had 10 family members coming over) became a debacle that I have never lived down.
With assistance from one of our guests, I finally got the damn thing installed at about 4:00 on Thanksgiving day. In the meanwhile, our female guests had to drive down the street to a gas station when they had to pee, while the guys went outside behind the garage and peed in a bucket.
My wife was
not thrilled. And ever since that time, she has immediately called a plumber whenever any sort of issue comes up.