Firstly, thanks for the reply!
Secondly, I've attempted to use several different mods as the base, Native included. The issue persists with each one. That being said, as far as the skins.txt file is concerned, I've been able to successfully add new skins/races with various models, size scales, and sounds.
However, I was unaware of the 0 and 1 rules having actual application beyond a placeholder. As such, when adding skins, I simply continued the pattern with 2, 3, 4 and so on.
So, if I am understanding this correctly, should I use only 0 and 1 to define masculine or feminine body meshes respectively? For example, if I were to add the japanese merc skin, should I set it up like this:
jpn 0
man_body man_calf_l m_handL
as opposed to what I currently have, which is this:
jpn 2
man_body man_calf_l m_handL
I just want to make sure I'm understanding what you mean.