Okay, top-of-the-head hunch... do a perldoc ExtUtils::MakeMaker. There might be a parameter that you can override on the command line to change that option. Then you can put it in your config module in your .cpan directory, so that it does this automatically.

Anyway, I know you don't wanna hear this right now, but... might be a very good idea to reinstall Perl with your existing compiler. You can leave the other one in place, and install the new one somewhere slightly nonstandard for now. Granted it'll take a bit of time, but I have a feeling that even if you do manage to get the system compiling with a different compiler, you might run into problems trying to do this. This is also just a hunch.

Good luck!

stephen