Theming the node edit forms  to open them within Lightbox I'm trying to display all the node edit forms neatly within Lightbox, without any of the excess content I don't want: no sidebars, footer, header, nothing but just the content. So I created a page-node-edit.tpl.php file.

I have two problems daunting me, but for now I'll only mention the first since its more important.

From any page, clicking on the "edit" link for the node doesn't activate the Lightbox like it should; instead, it clicks through the link as normal.
With jQuery in the header I added a "del" attribute for the Lightbox to the links, but the box still doesn't activate. I tested the Lightbox on a link I hardcoded into the page, and it activated just fine. For elements generated by Drupal, like the node edit link/button the problem seems to be timing.

I think the "del" attribute needs to be built with the page, with the link, rather than appended onto it. The catch is, the link lacks an id and class, so I don't see how the hook_alter_link() function can help me.

I'm willing to try anything. Perhaps someone has opened a node/edit form within Lightbox before.
If installing one or 2 additional module is an option then you can check Popups API (Ajax Dialogs). When I last checked, the module had functionality of opening forms in popups, which you can theme. I also feel that, in the way Drupal form API works, there is more to done then just adding classes and JavaScript to make Drupal forms work in Lightbox.