This seems to have done the trick! I'll play some pinball over the next week and if all looks good I'll mark your first post as Solution. It was pointing out that the input should be made PULLUP that got me over the hump.
I know this stuff was very basic and it was a beginners mistake to not know the proper way to initialize the pins, but I really appreciate your help.
This seems like a great community!
Thanks to all!
Robb