Gary,
If your stepper isn't moving very fast, and you aren't grossly overloading the s
tepper so it misses steps or slips, you
should be able to just use the stepper by itself.
The whole POINT of a stepper motor is, it moves a set amount each
phase change.
A common need with steppers is to figure out where they are at power
on. Usually this can be handled with a photodetector or some such
and slewing the motor around until you detect the photodetector.

That's what's happening when you turn on a cheap computer printer
and it slews the carriage to one end.

--
Anniepoo
Need loco motors?
http://www.idiom.com/~anniepoo/depot/motors.html