Yeah a combo of stick/dowel and sugru is probably what I'll try if I get sick of stabbing it with a pen. Since I use the 1030 now this unit is basically retired for turbo use so waterproofing isn't a big deal. Just bloody annoyed Garmin don't do spares for common failure modes like this.
could you Sugru the pen bit in place a bit like this..?
http://www.ketterechts.de/Navigation_Edge_Schalter.htm