How to find out if I will really like academia?
Pursuing a doctorate while working full time is very difficult. It is not impossible, but imagine doubling your work load. Not many will be happy with that, especially if they have a family. But if it is the only way you can manage it, then you just do what you need to do. 

But if finances are not a particular issue, it is probably better to reduce your workload to permit both time and mental energy for research and writing. 

It is also hard to know if you will like academia until you try it. You indicate an attitude that will probably work for you, but until you try, you won't know. Also, academia varies widely depending on the type of institution you are at. Life is very different at an R1 where you need to always be pursuing grants and working with doctoral students than at an undergraduate college where research, though required is much less the driving force in your career. Drexel, of course, is at the higher end of the scale. 

There are a number of places in which a fully employed person can teach part time, probably even with an MS rather than a doctorate. There wouldn't be many perks outside the classroom, however, nor would it pay very well. But that isn't really a path into academia.