From the OP:

I am not a Perl guru, so I am looking for some assistance. I have been through numerous trouble shooters ... This script was given to me ... I appreciate anybody's help ... I would like to learn Perl ...

Iowachaser is a Perl tyro and needs to change a Perl script, perhaps radically. warnings are already enabled globally with the  -w switch (assuming the shebang line is being interpreted — a big assumption), but are better used in a smaller scope. Enabling strictures with strict will enforce a number of syntactic requirements that will make a novice's life much easier. Use of these two modules in the revised script (and future scripts) will enable Perl to give Iowachaser some assistance and help even when all the trouble shooters have gone home (or off-line).