AdvancedMAME OptiPac/A-Pac Control Problem

[toolaa]

I have two strange problems with my setup.  Thanks in advance if you take the time to read this long post.

A) I can see A-Pac Axis when I configure controls in the TAB menu User Interface within the game.  However my only options are Pedal INC and Pedal DEC.  When I press down it registers J1 +X and when I let go it registers J1 -X.  So I know it sees the movement.  However, within the game nothing happens.

B) I have tried to set these up in the advancedmame.rc file as follows:
input_map[p1_pedalgas] joystick[0,0,x] -joystick[0,0,x] however no matter what I do these settings don't appear to be active during the game.  When I view the UI menu, I still see the default settings and Game still does not see movement.

C) Similar Problem for Opti-Pac axis.  No matter what I try I can not simply turn the wheel to trigger movement on the Sysmouse X axis to map to the paddle (Wheel).

D) When I try to setup an Opti-Pac in the .rc file similar problem happens like the Joy axis.  input_map[p1_paddlex] mouse[0,x] -mouse[0,x].  Again as before, when I go back to the UI it simply shows the default control mapping Left for DEC and Right for INC.  No movement from withing game either.

E) Frustrated I tried other options.  For reference I was able to get MAMEAnalog+ to work with all controlls while editing the input map from the TAB UI.  However another strange problem occurs.  Whenever I switch between games or exit, I have to go back and re-map all the controlls.  So I know that the controls are actually working correctly with the computer.

So to sum things up:

1) In Advanced Mame it looks like my control mapping in the .rc file are not translating to the actually games when run.

2) In MAMEanalog+ it looks like my settings are not being saved. 

Finding out how to fix either of these would set me on my way. 

Thanks Again for your time and any support you can give.  It's much appreciated. 

John