Why don't my mouse button/trackpad work?

Hello!
I've been enjoying my MacBook Pro since 2006, and while I had no intention of replacing it anytime soon, something just came up that's driving me crazy:
My mouse button abruptly stopped working three days ago. Mechanically it doesn't feel as though there's anything wrong with it; it clicks as normal. But the MacBook just refuses to acknowledge it's there. What's really weird is, when I plug a USB mouse in and use that, the trackpad acts like it normally would: moving around the pointer, scrolling when I use two fingers, etc. The only indication anything is wrong with it: it highlights everything I drag the pointer over.
However, if the USB mouse is unplugged, the trackpad does one-finger scrolling and highlights everything on the screen.
I'm hoping this isn't something mechanical, because I'm out-of-warranty and can't afford the high costs of repairs (I thought I had AppleCare still, but apparently not). Has anyone else encountered this issue, and is there any way I can fix it? I use my computer on the go a lot and can't stand carrying around a separate mouse.
Thanks!

Bard-kun,
A couple of thoughts.
Firstly you might want to check that your battery hasn't started going "bad" and swollen, as this can cause a variety of trackpad and button issues.
Secondly, I'd try a PRAM reset (Shut down. Then hold down "command option P R" while starting up. Keep the keys depressed until the chimes have sounded at least twice).
Next, if the above doesn't fix it, I'd try an SMC reset (http://support.apple.com/kb/HT3964).
If none of this does the job, then you could try heading to the "preferences" folder in the "Library" folder in your "Home" folder and deleting "com.apple.systempreferences.plist" and restarting. Doing this may change other related customised settings however.
Have you installed any third party mouse or keyboard software? If so it would be worth trying removing or disabling it.
If none of the above resolve the issue then I'd be suspecting a hardware issue.
Cheers
Rod

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