Keyboard malfunctions? vxcz and other strings...

Hello, all!

I have had my Dell Inspiron 1521 pretty much since they have been available to consumers in 2007. I have taken very good care of it, and have never had a problem with it. It still runs like the day I bought it! I have upgraded the system to Windows 7, but it still has all the original hardware: 2GB RAM, 160GB Hard drive, etc...

However, I have run into an interesting problem. I have done some searching online for solutions, but no one seems to totally understand what the issue is...

My laptop will spontaneously type random strings of characters... most commonly, "vxcz" but sometimes other strings of text like, ".,/m" or "X.//y" or something like that. Whenever one of these strings is typed, my volume toggles on or off... and sometimes, it acts as though someone is pressing and holding the "Mute" hotkey located on the front of my computer, making the volume repeatedly shut off and then on over and over again, even if I have completely removed my hands from the computer. It will also sometimes close windows, open windows, toggle through windows, and execute random commands (it was actually kind of funny while I was talking to three people via IM and I suddenly started barraging them with junk text)

At first, I thought it was a virus, but after a lot of time spent cleaning my system (even wiping and starting over at one point) the problem persists even before I can get an Internet connection up and running on my laptop. What further leads me to believe it is not a software error is this: I have recently been able to control when this event takes place...

If I squeeze the left side of my computer, right next to the touch pad (officially called the "palm rest" by Dell), it will start firing off the random characters. Having taken my laptop apart before, I know that on this side of the computer, directly underneath the palm rest/keyboard, there is a ribbon cable. I am assuming that this ribbon cable is for the media control hotkeys on the front of the computer.

Any thoughts on what can be done to combat this? The ribbon cable is firmly plugged in, and, to be honest, I really have no idea if that is someplace I should even start. Thank you!