Actually, you can skip entering the number on DL -- and thank goodness.

I've called the U.S.800 elite number from Europe using AT&T direct (or MCI WorldPhone).

Once you enter the "pound" sign in the Delta phone tree, it is picked up by AT&T as the signal for wanting to make a new call. Bye-bye Delta.

So, you can wait and eventually someone comes on the line (and asks you for your SkyMiles number )

The touch tone problem is also there if you are calling from a tone-free country (like Switzerland, for the most part) and don't have a tone generator handy.