I have the flu-have been coughing for 3 days now. everytime i swallow i feel like there's a huge lump in my throat-did i damage my vocal chords?

No: You have have inflammation in your pharynx and larynx, typical in a flu like illness. The "lump" is the swelling in this area. This will resolve as you clear the infection. Damgae to the vocal cords results in persistant hoarseness that lasts weeks. If that's the case, go see an otolaryngolgist to get checked.

Not likely . . .: It's not likely that you damaged your vocal cord from coughing as long as you can talk & sing as you've always done. The throat is a fairly large area so it's difficult to figure out what's going on when you describe a lump w/o stating where on your throat. Most likely, you have a lump on one side of your jaw or the other, or perhaps one one side of the neck or the other, suggesting swollen glands.