I very much appreciate the comments. A little part of brain is saying that i misrepresented the question a bit though. Both of these subsystems DataManager and Reporter are low level, related parts of a generalized data crunching system, and are both part of the processing.

So i guess i keep thinking that the interaction (API) that im working on designing is at a lower level than what has been discussed. (maybe not) I am almost entirely self taught - have been programming Perl for 10 years, but my big design projects are designed via my own methods, which are mostly bits and pieces of formal (academic) design philosophies.

On the statement of considering fixing all the code right now - thats exactly what the current crusade is. My boss has been too busy to give me any direction, so since mid april , i've been working under the instructions 'do whatever you think needs doing'. (its our companys off season, so there isnt a lot of time critical work - just retooling).
Its a great place to be these days