We had resorted to warming the key area with a hair dryer and that worked for a while. Seems like there would be a way to trick the system into thinking the proper key was being used. Thanks!
warming it with a hair dryer makes it sound like there is just a bad connection somewhere. Have you checked the harness to see if it is dirty? Sometimes just unplugging it and plugging it back in will clean the contacts enough to help it work.