I was thinking about it and was wondering if my problem actually is with the javascript. Perhaps it is being "eaten up" by being nested inside a DNN control or something. I'm not all that familiar with object oriented programming or inheritance but would that have anything to do with it at all? Could I simply use a dot syntax to drill down to the layer I want to use?

I was also considering trying to use multiple ascx files on the server and changing them out with AJAX but I don't know if I can use DNN to make updates to the content.

Just tossing out some ideas and brainstorming out loud. I might just be brainfarting though...