With your "7 way switch"....
If you use SimHub, it has a Control Remapper function, and that lets you grab ANY of your controller inputs - controllers, keyboards, anything - and add functionality to them.
So in your case, for eg, you would grab the 7 'switches' (directions etc) and remap them to either a NEW controller device it can create, or just remap them to existing keyboard keys. Then you go into LMU so it can use those new ones, which it will see 'properly' then.
There are quite a few YouTube videos about using the SimHub Control Remapper, and they are quite clear and you should be able to work it all out.
You do NOT need to BUY SimHub - you can use it totally fine in the Free version it has.
Buying it (and it is CHEAP) gives a small advantage, but definitely not essential, though I thought it was well worth the small cost to have it capable of its highest update rate (which is what buying it gives you). But, as mentioned, it is TOTALLY FINE in its free version also.
On a side note - anyone NOT using SimHub for some of its other VERY USEFUL features - in ALL sim games! - is missing out on a LOT!