I'm still attempting to work through what you gave me, but I do have a question ...
The variable $ep, for proxy ... what exactly is the job of the proxy link? I've tried to look it up, read about it, and apply to what I've been given. But so far it's just not coming across. Either that or I'm just being thick.
With it being "localhost" as you suggested, it makes it my Apache server. Does that sound correct to you?
Thanks again ... still plugging through!