David,
I don't understand why you would go to all the trouble of building a device to press the button when simply soldering wires to the remote would work better. This wouls not cause damage to the remote and it cuold be restored to a useable remote in a matter of seconds. Two small guage wires coming out of the battery tray would be all that is needed. No holes, no internal damage and best of all no additional cost. If you are unsure of how to wire the remote I would be happy to do it for you and return it to you (if I mess it up, I'll buy you a new one). If you do decide to built the "remote finger", keep us informed of its progress and performance.

Chris Couture