Well, everything suggested hasn't worked so far. I've turned on forms mode at the "never use google instant" and left mouse, spacebar, and enter don't do a thing. Unless I'm supposed to do something different like shift spacebar or insert enter, it won't check.
I turned on the html elements with insert+f8 and still couldn't check it. GRRR! I guess my next option is to collect and install nvda. Thanks for the link. Karen For answers to frequently asked questions about this list visit: http://www.jaws-users.com/help/