Yes thanks for replying, you are correct. I have already implemented that work-around. I was a little disappointed that the esri japi code only works with the mouse. Not very good for accessibility. This is the code I ended up using:
map.disableKeyboardNavigation();
dojo.connect(document,"onkeydown",trapkey);
function trapkey(evt){
var evt=(evt) ? evt : ((event) ? event : null);
var node=(evt.target) ? evt.target : ((evt.srcElement) ? evt.srcElement : null);
if(node.type==undefined){
if(evt.keyCode==40){map.panDown();return false;}
if(evt.keyCode==39){map.panRight();return false;}
if(evt.keyCode==38){map.panUp();return false;}
if(evt.keyCode==37){map.panLeft();return false;}
if(evt.keyCode==187){map.setLevel(map.getLevel()+1);return false;}
if(evt.keyCode==189){map.setLevel(map.getLevel()-1);return false;}
} else {return true;}
}