Hi all, after some research and experimentation I came up with the following script that I added to the footer section of my Form and List module.  It does the trick.  You will need to use a browser  tool to gather the DNN element ID.


<script language='javascript' type='text/javascript'>
function SetFocus()
{
    // safety check, make sure its a post 1999 browser
    if (!document.getElementById)
    {
        return;
    }


    var txtMyInputBoxElement = document.getElementById("dnn_ctr9999_Default_List_txtSearch");


    if (txtMyInputBoxElement != null)
    {
        txtMyInputBoxElement.focus();
    }
}
SetFocus();
</script>