Just an update. I followed what Rudel did and I had success. My microstick works as advertised. I had to invert the Y axis because the direction was opposite of the microstick, but very happy. When I was assigning the microstick, I was getting the same key for both x and y axis. It took me a few minutes to figure out that if you dont hit the sweet spot on the microstick, you will activate both x and y axis. So I moved the X axis to assign the key and for the y axis, I used the key/button drop down menu and picked the key. I went to the F16 to test and it all works. I even assigned the manual range knob but I don't think this is presently active in the game. So here are my assignments. My ANT ELEV knob is different then Rudels, but every other assignment is the same. But make sure your HOTAS CCP is set up the same as Rudels example, so Windows and DCS sees the microstick.
ANT ELEV Knob: JOY_RX
MAN RNG Knob: JOY_SLIDER1
RDR CURSOR Switch - X axis: JOY_RZ
RDR CURSOR Switch - Y axis: JOY_SLIDER2
Hope this helps anyone trying to get their Cougar microstick working.