This code works (that is, the print executes) for me, and should work for you:

$dm='08/14/04';
$_='There is an 08/14/04 in here';
if ($_ =~ m/$dm/) {
  print "Matched on <$_>\n";
}
[download]

The code you've included so far hasn't been the kind of test code we'd most like to see, which is an actual program that we can run that demonstrates the problem.

In this last excerpt, you're quoting your subroutine calls, which results in the subroutines not being called. Also, you're putting a newline in your date_manip, which may not be what you want. Here's a test-code modification that may help you out:

#!perl
sub date_manip {
  my ($month, $day, $year) = (localtime)[4,3,5];
  sprintf ("%02d/%02d/%02d\n", $month+1,$day,($year % 100));
}

my $dm = &date_manip;

sub date_manip1 {
  my $days = (shift);
  my ($d, $m, $y) = (localtime($time - $days * 86400)) [3..5];
  sprintf ("%02d/%02d/%02d", $m+1,$d,($y % 100));
}

my $dmm = &date_manip1(1);

print ("{$dm} {$dmm}\n");

############################################################
## Gather data for scratch tapes; open file, create list, then print i
+t. ##
############################################################

while (<DATA>) {
  print "-- Checking <$_>\n";
  print "Found 9840\n" if /9840S/;
  print "Found ebexpire\n" if /ebexpire, ebexpire/;
  print "Found $dm\n" if /$dm/;
  print "Found $dmm\n" if /$dmm/;
}

__DATA__
  9840S    ebexpire, ebexpire     12/30/69    08/18/04
  9840S    ebexpire, ebeXpire     12/30/69    08/18/04
  9840S    ebexpire, ebexpire     XX/30/69    08/18/04
[download]

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