I'm using a game-pad to play this game instead of my keyboard. I have all the gameplay controls configured but I have no clue what the Hot Key Items keys do. They are 1 thru 8. They are programed to be used in my game-pad but do nothing. Am I missing something because the manual and game config doesn't cover any configuration of these keys.

They are hot keys the main advantage over joy pads for Skyrim. If you hit 1 on your keyboard that item will be slotted.

Ok, that I already knew. My question is how does one bind these keys to something. The manual is a waste and pulling up controls in the game's menu tells you nothing. Hell it doesn't even list these keys. I would just like to bind them if possible.