The problem we are all having, is that your question dosn't seem to make sense; and it's hard for experienced programmers to warp their minds into fixing some sort of Rube Goldberg code contraption.

What you should do, is show what is in those files, even if just a few sample lines. Then say what you want to do with the files and data...like what output do you expect?

Once we have a clear idea of what you need to do to the files, and what they contain, we can give you a good answer. Otherwise, we are just trying to figure WHY you are doing it your way? Finally, use warnings, and strict. Many problems, like yours are caused by global variables acting unexpectedly, and it shows good faith on your part, to use warnings and strict.