Does it work better if you "unreverse" the if condition? 
if(s/\(#:(\d+)\)/#/) { 
    return $1 + distance($_);
}

[download]

As I don't have the whole code, it's a bit difficult to test. And it's just a hunch.

In reply to Re: $1 not "freezing" in an addition by bart
in thread $1 not "freezing" in an addition by grondilu

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