Can't answer part 1, but on part 2, I believe the following note would apply since you are using DBI version 1.34:

LOB Locator Methods

The following driver-specific methods let you manipulate "LOB Locators
+". LOB locators can be selected from tables directly, if the ora_auto
+_lob attribute is false, or returned via PL/SQL procedure calls.

(If using a DBI version earlier than 1.36 they must be called via the 
+func() method. Note that methods called via func() don't honour Raise
+Error etc, and so it's important to check $dbh->err after each call. 
+It's recommended that you upgrade to DBI 1.38 or later.)
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Scott

Note You may want to look into the really old version of DBD::Oracle (1.06 versus current version 1.17) as possibly part of your issue with part 1, the changelogs between 1.06 and 1.17 have references to the LOB stuff you are using.