Wow! Thanks everyone. I am going to look into some of those. They look like they will do the job. I was looking at some others like those too, but the prices on them get kinda up there. So, in the meantime, this is what I did... Hehe...
I had an old Logitech Attack3 Joystick that I stopped using when I got my Saitek (the Logitech didnt have a twisty stick). So... I took it apart, unplugged the stick assembly and took it out... leaving just the base with the buttons and the throttle wheel. It came apart pretty easily, and the cables for the stick portion just unplugged from the main circuit board... so I can always put it back together. Anyway, I plugged it in, remapped the throttle wheel on the new "Rig-Pad" to the zoom in and out function, mapped the other buttons to what I wanted, and here ya go:
I covered the hole from where the stick was with an old plastic lid before I put it back together, so nothing is exposed on the inside. My hand fits right over the whole base, and my fingers can reach all the buttons or the new zoom wheel now. I am still gonna look around for a true gamepad, but this just took care of 90% of my need for the keyboard.... and I didnt spend a dime.
Thanks again all.