Nope, not at all. You've got to set a key for everything that moves, at the first frame. Then, if you've got parts that stay stationary for a while, you set a key at the start and end of that still section - no need to worry about the inbetween bits when moving, maya automatically calculates that based on the amount of movement and the number of keys it is performed in. Mocap uses a key at every frame, but generally, you'll be setting keys far, far less frequently.

If there are nevery any parts that are stationary, you just set one at the end of each movement.

As for autokey, F1 - search for "auto key" - the help's pretty good. To turn auto key on and off, just click on the key icon in the bottom right of the screen.

Nah, don't know that it really can get any easier than this, to be honest.

Just save a copy of your file and then have a play around for a little bit, you'll have the hang of it in no-time.

Simon.