Plane
If the tote is original then it should fit. If it has been replaced it might be the real reason why the lateral adjuster was cut off. You can always use the hammer tap method I mentioned until you make up your mind on the lateral adjustment mechanism. It is also possible that the mechanism was simply bent down toward the tote and can be bent back up away from the tote, but make sure it doesn’t rub the blade heavilly.
If the tote is just too tall I would try and find or make a replacement. Just cutting a tote off probably would make it uncomfortable to use.
You mentioned flattening the blade back: if there is pitting at the edge you might consider the “ruler trick” as an alternative.
If you want to use the plane as a fore plane you can probably leave some pitting since you will be following with other planes anyway and don’t need a pristine edge. Also, if this is to be used as a fore plane, you would want to camber the blade and don’t really need to “super tune” the sole. Just get it “kinda sorta” flat and have at the work. If this is going to work as a short joiner plane then you want to put the extra work into it.