having got ir-keytable the way I want it and all key codes working with vlc and liblic-client0 removed, I then reinstalled vlc and all the key codes still worked, even after a reboot. So now I'm guessing that liblirc-client0 prevents proper setup of the key codes if it is installed, but after it's already been setup, it has no effect on them. Maybe someone else can figure out what is going on.
having got ir-keytable the way I want it and all key codes working with vlc and liblic-client0 removed, I then reinstalled vlc and all the key codes still worked, even after a reboot. So now I'm guessing that liblirc-client0 prevents proper setup of the key codes if it is installed, but after it's already been setup, it has no effect on them. Maybe someone else can figure out what is going on.