I'm redoing my kitchen by myself, with NO experience doing this sort of thing. I live in a mobile home and the kitchen linoleum got torn up by the dog we had. I want to replace it with peel and stick, but know I need to even up the surface and I think going the luan (sp?) route is beyond what I can do alone. (55 year old woman).

Floor leveling is a concrete mix that you mix up very thin and then pour out like water. A liquid will naturally self level. Its purpose is to level the floor. It is not used to smooth the surface which is what you want to do. If luan is beyond your capabilities then so is using a floor leveling material. Laun in not recommended for a floor under layment. If you are going that route, use 1/4 plywood.

Sounds like you simply need to remove the existing linoleum. First try removing it using a hair dryer to heat it and scraping with a large putty knife. If you have any success get a heat gun, just a hotter hair dryer.