You give little info of what error you now get, and without seeing the entire source of the script as it is now (probably after many alterations), I think it's close to madness to try and guess what the solution might be.

if you have any suggestions or a better and easier script for a simple discussion board, I would love to hear about them.

I bet you can find a nice one on sites such as http://www.hotscripts.com/, but as always, you Google is usually a big help too.