Spill On Keyboard

Hi,

Last night I spilled Hawaiian punch on the keyboard of my Inspiron 2600.  I proceeded to turn it upside down, and this morning, I thorougly cleaned the keyboard.  However, while some of the keys are working, others are not.  For example, when I try to type the letter "L" it comes out as a "3." 

I have several questions - the first is, does it sound like I'll need to completely replace my keyboard?  How much does that usually cost?

I was thinking I could hook up an external keyboard, but I think that in order to do that, I need to have the computer completely booted.  I can't boot it, because I can't type in my password in order to log on.  How can I bypass this and boot my computer without inputting a password?

Thanks,

Devon