Previously I posted that after RH 8.0 inst the PS2 mouse scroll wheel was inop. It was suggested that problem was in
/etc/X11/XF86Config.

I opened /etc/X11/XF86Config and found the following:

Section "Input Device"
Identifier "Mouse0"
ZAxisMapping "4 5"
.............................
..............................

I ALSO found:

Section "Input Device"
Identifier "Mouse1"
ZAxisMapping "4 5"
...............................
..............................

To a newbie, this "looks" wrong !!!

Is this a possible cause for "inoperative mouse wheel"

Question: Which entry should I remove ????

Somewhere in the file it specifies which mouse (mouse0 or mouse1) it uses. Delete the one that isn't being used. There is a utility called xf86cfg that graphically displays which devices are connected.
Maybe you need to put this in your mouse section:
Buttons "5"