Alternate dropdown solution

[monkey]

Here is my scenario,
I have a main data source that consists of a main table and a few
subtables. One of the subtables, inserted into the form as a repeating
table, stores employee numbers that worked on a job. I also have a
secondary data source for employees table that lists number, first
name, last name and I was using this as a Lookup table for a dropdown
list.

Ideally it would be great to have a multi-column dropdown that would
enable the user to see both the number and name that they can pick
from. I have read it is possible but have found no safe way (without
breaking the form) to do it.

So, I figured I would put the secondary data source in another view and
show all the employees info with a button at each row. The user would
click the button for the row that corresponds to the user name that
will be working on the job. When the button is pressed it would insert
the employee name into the main view. This would be repeated for each
employee that worked on the job

Am i approaching this the right way? If I am, I can't seem to get the
employee number from one view and insert it into the first view.