yes i see, this isn't the problem however, the problem is, it doesn't seem to be storing the values correctly, i store the values in the exact same way as dark_samurai stated but only the first one seems to work, which is:

my.skill1 = 0;
my.skill1 |= key_pressed(20); //forward key in bit1

i then get that value and store it in a variable called forward_key
forward_key = my.skill1&0x00000001; //get bit1

this works and i am able to get forward movement on the server, i get no other movement however so am wondering if the values are being stored correctly..