sorry if i didn't make that clear ... under cgi i was getting the right stuff, then i made my initial partial mod-perl install and started getting a bad result set even though i could get the right one by running the dbi shell. my installation is ok now, and i'm getting the right data. i'm just trying to figure out what was going on when i had the partial install, but at a partial level i was getting data back. what interpeter was getting executed, if the interpreter was getting executed and returning a good data set in one context, why didn't it in another, and why did i continue to get a bad result after i backed away from mod-perl ... these are the kinds of questions i'm asking.

i recognize that it's difficult to answer these without being able to look at the system, and i'm not expecting a definitive answer, just an experienced suggestion of things to look at.