Try not using modules for a while. So that you can see the power of plain perl commands.

If you can manage to do what you want without a module, you are going to understand better how much would you be saving by using the CGI.pm and HTML::Template.pm.

This is what I do when I am having trouble with some code. I start cutting unnecesary things until I get it working. Sometimes, I write more but in a simpler way that I know it has to work...

Afterwards, I can start adding things on a working script and know what parts have to be rewritten.