$ini() and other identifiers use numbers to select the specific numbered item if you don't know the item name. For example, $chan(1) will give you the first channel. Using numbers as item names or section names in an INI file can give you problems because of that. Anytime you see N in the help file for an identifier, you know that it probably will take a number and look up the Nth item rather than looking up an item with that numbered name.
I'd suggest not using numbers or else making sure every number is represented (no missing numbers) so that the first item is 1, the second is 2, and so on. That way when you look up item 1, you'll get the item with the name of 1. Ideally, you'd just avoid using numbers, but that's up to you.
