Hey Jim,
ah okay, I understand. On mine a short press is enough to wake it up, but it is a new gamepad and not used (just for testing purpose in the lab, not on a machine in a workshop).
I have made the experience that generally input hardware that has buttons or joysticks can have a limited lifetime. I don’t know if this applies to the gamepad but maybe a device like the @Satoer Control panel with its robustness and its IP67 switches fits better to a CNC machine.