so, I was asking, does anyone know how the default gtk engine, used by the wx code, works, so I can find the missing file(s) I need to add to my bundle.

You just might want to wander over to Google Groups and possibly find the WX users group there and ask. While your app might be written in Perl the libs you speak of are not. I know myself that if I tried to do what you are doing the air in my cubicle would turn a nice shade of blue.