I just looked up the "ssl_customer_code" you mentioned was required for the Elavon Virtual Merchant gateway and their developer guide indicates that its not required and has no description on what it should be populated with. Please see the following link to the Elavon developer guide:
https://www.myvirtualmerchant.com/Vir...
The "ssl_customer_code" field doesnt look like its required. Try logging in to your Elavon virtual terminal account and see if you have checked a box to make the optional "ssl_customer_code" required.