First disclaimer, I have never opened up a KA range, so I am going on generic knowledge.

The way the sparkers/ignitors work falls into two general categories. Some ranges have a "lite" position that actuates a switch that turns on the ignitors. If this is the case, then it is probably the switch in that specific knob.

Other ranges have an "unburned gas" sensor built into the ignitor itself. These are the kind of ranges will generally self re-light without having to touch the knob. If you have this kind, it is likely one of the following problems:
* The ignitor is "bad" (not sensing unburned gas)
* The wiring (or connections) from the ignitor to the module is bad (yes, can still spark and not sense properly)
* The ignitor module is bad

How easy to fix will depend on how easy it is to get to the module (so you can potentially debug by, for example, carefully switching around wires from burner to burner) and how much parts cost. Some posters with other makes have been able to use "generic" modules as well as ignitors intended for a different manufacturer's product, but "your mileage may vary" on that.

Thanks sfjeff. mine is the first one you mentioned. It has a "lite" position on the knob, where the spark is triggered. So it sounds like the switch is likely the culprit. Hopefully this is not a major surgery on the appliance... I just dont want to pay someone to a) do the troubleshooting/diagnosis that I did and come to the same conclusion, and b) make the fix if its pretty simple.

anyone know a good place to order these kind of parts?

There are some online appliance places that I have used for photos and part numbers, like repairclinic.com, but I've never ordered from them. (Mainly because my appliance was dead and needed immediate resuscitation.) A quick check there has a few KA switches that look sort of like the right thing for $23.20

I generally use one of the two appliance parts houses here in San Francisco, mainly for speed. Especially if you come in with your model number, serial number, and the part itself, you can get decent service even without wearing a blue shirt with your name on it.

thanks again.. I do have a blue shirt with my name on it, but its a bowling shirt.. I'm not sure that will help or hurt my situation! :) I'll take a look on repairclinic to see what i can find. again, really appreciate your help.
ben