Thanks Al

I now see numbers and not ||

OK so this is how I am now setup ...
http://www.rentron.com/serkey16.htm
notice there are no pull-ups on the rows.

I have series resistors on for the columns (100 OHM)
In other words KEYPAD >> RESISTOR >> PIC (PortB4-7)
Aah at least I am now seeing characters
When Idle the LCD just displays 4 8 12 and the 16 and then it repeats :-(
What's wrong :-(

My wishlist
A schematic( where to wire the pull-ups and where to wire the pull downs.
I would prefer not to use Port.B since I have the pickit 2 setup for ICSP on PortB.6 and B.7.
So which ports are advisable to use ? How should I TRIS each ?

Some code shows keypad ports as input tohers as output ... some show pull-ups others show no pull-ups ?

This is getting mega confusing

Should I just stick with dipswitches and give up on the dream of using a keypad for input ?

Any more help or comments would be seriously appreciated