Hm - as you've noted, there's a few ways you can go about solving this problem.

Let's go through a few possible solutions:

1. Fill-in-the-Blank
Select the item type 'Fill-in-the-Blank'. Use a parameter of: (r1-10) for the item.

By specifying the above information, you will allow for the user to simply type in a value of 1 to 10. This will open up a lot more room on screen, and allow for the same data to be pulled from the question.

For more information see the following links:
http://www.empirisoft.com/medialab/h...mtype.htm#fitb
http://www.empirisoft.com/medialab/h...ters.htm#range

2. Use a Vertical Scale
Using a vertical scale may make it easier to present the items. Try running through sample 2 within MediaLab's sample folder. Horizontal scale items have much less space to draw text in. By using the spacing and left parameters, you can also specify where you want the buttons to be located at. There's quite a lot of flexibility.

For more information see the following links:
http://www.empirisoft.com/medialab/h...parameters.htm
http://www.empirisoft.com/medialab/h...type.htm#scale

3. Custom Items
As you've noted, the third option would be to use a custom item through MediaLab's ability to harness the power of HTML. A few users on the forums have already created the tools to make this process a bit easier.

See the following thread:
http://www.empirisoft.com/support/showthread.php?t=1315

This will allow for the user to select their input with a slider scale, rather than buttons.
If this doesn't quite work, you can also try using a set of radio buttons for the input type within the HTML.

For more help with custom items, see the following link:
http://www.empirisoft.com/medialab/h...stom_items.htm

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Please let me know if you have any additional questions or if I can help in any way.