Tell me if this sounds like a driver problem, or hardware failure

I installed Fedora 4 on my inspiron 8000 with no problems. I changed the keyboard type to "Dell Inspiron 8xxx" and was able to map the FN keys to volume up/down/mute with no problem. The FN+UPARROW/DOWNARROW changed brightness etc. Everything worked.

I decided i wanted to give Gentoo a shot. Installed it, didn't like it as much. Repartitioned/reformatted and installed Fedora 4 again.

Now the FN key combinations don't work. The volume/playback buttons next to the power button work fine when i map them. But the system doesn't even recognize the FN key. Even some fn key combos that i would think are bios-level don't work (ejecting the CD-ROM, brightness/contrast control, battery status display).

I installed i8kutils to try to capture the FN key combos with no luck. It just recognizes the second key (F10, pageup/down etc.)

Anyone else run fedora on an inspiron 8xxx and have the same problem? Anyone have it running fine?

I suspect my FN key might be shorting out.. just looking for a few more opinions.

Thanks a bunch!