As much as I'd like to say that I just need help with one specific point in one little process, I'm not at that point. I'm really much more of an artist than I am a technical sort, honestly.

You see, I want to edit existing models and/or borrow existing skeletons and animations from existing models in order to make models for missing female models for races, all with proper geosets/ hairstyle options/etc.

I'm starting with taunka, as all that needs to be done for that is to change the head of the existing female tauren model.
So, I get the idea that I should more less do this:

-export a female tauren model with all the geosets
-replace the tauren head with the taunka one on the head/torso geoset
-add hairstyles/ hornstyles/accessories as separate objects and label them using the same name as the model of the horn or hairstyle I'm replacing (Geoset_XX-HairstylesX, etc.)
-import the model into a wow compatible format
-copy all other necessary files needed to get a race working properly into a Taunka/Female directory; rename files as needed
-pack all that and the model into an MPQ

Is this correct? I haven't tinkered with wow files in some time, and even then, I had relatively little experience before.

Oh, and you need to add bones to dictate helmet/pauldron wear, right? Would adding bones to a skeleton of an existing model's animation mess with the animations' compatibility with wow?