Er...well...should think before I post.
I Just added a 'time' attribute (ranging from 0-1) and used this to access the ramp.
I needed to do a number of different flashy buttons with different colors and a different cycle timing, that's why I put all the color information in a ramp. That way, I could change colors and timing just by pushing the ramp's colors around a bit.
Thanks for the tip anyway.
Subdivide and conquer!
Free your mind, and your ass will follow!