In a rare flash of insight, or something,...I remembered I had a friend in Texas who runs a home based laptop repair business. After listening to my description of the symptoms, and posing one or two questions, she asked,
"Haven't you noticed something? Only certain keys are affected,...and they are all on the same row." (TABQWERTYUIOP[]\)
"Bad keyboard, see it all the time."
I was so relieved, I didn't care about STUPID written across my forehead in block letters.
So, she showed me where I could buy a new laptop keyboard for only $17.49,...which I did today,...and said she'll walk me through the process of removal, and re-installation.
My hands are already sweating.