You really got me confused with that config... so just a few thoughts:

Here is Ultimarcs Default Setting [under Tab: Installation] for the I-Pac#, and the ones in your config seem to be mixed/messed up with the (I-PAC) shifted defaults (player 1 defaults for the joystick/d-pad are cursor u/d/l/r)...
And my curiosity about your .cfg reminds me: At first I should have reminded myself (and you) that third party images are not supported on this forum. To debug/help you on this, if your builder wasn't a friend who had set it up with an official build and got paid for the hardware alone and added your roms on your behalve, I think that another sd card with a fresh retropie install (keeping formerly as a backup in case you need stuff from there) would be a good start. And by doing so, regardless what your son may do in the future, you will be prepared to set it up again!

The hotkey is defined in the RetroPie controller config. You can then customize the hotkeys in RetroArch.

Or I believe you can set up "shift key" behavior in the I-PAC config to do the same thing.

If you still want separate buttons that's fine, was just a personal preference to have my controls be minimal.

I haven't installed any leaf buttons/sticks myself, I guess you can check the other forums here or google around for more info.

yeah, its the preconfigured mame2003. It does seem that the read-only hack will work, so I guess I'll go with that.

@edmaul69 that worked perfect thanks for the help