Final Notes:
(for anyone following)
There WAS an issue using the Spreadsheet::ParseExcell module, it really does not like modifying the XLS file then trying to read it back immediately. I ended up re-writing (with some difficulty, not alot of precise info on it) using the Spreadsheet::Read module, which seems (so far), to work just ducky. I appreciate all the time and effort everyone gave with help on my project, I believe I'm to the point of using Use Tk to actually start my script doing something. I ended up not using the grep function as of yet, I may refer to the help provided when I get to the actual GUI part... Thanx a gigabyte to everyone that followed up on my issues (btw; I still get the subscript -1 issue arbitrarily, I will investigate that next).
In the words of the Swartz... "I'll be back"
Thanx again, I'll email twinkies out tomorrow.