php4.0.2 weirdness with required files

we are using redhat 6.1, mysql 3.23, and trying to upgrade our development server to php4.0.2. we use php sessions. the first lines of every script look like this: require('session.inc'); # session_start, basic init stuff require('site_lib.inc'); # misc functions needed everywhere # (including the make db connection function) everything works great on our staging and production servers (using php4.01pl2). now, with php4.0.2, every page is generating a fatal error: Fatal error: Call to undefined function: dbconnect() in /usr/local/apache/share/htdocs/includes/session.inc on line 26 the function "dbConnect()" is located in site_lib.inc. ok, so i switch the order of the 2 required files and all is swell. what is up with that? to further foil me, the fatal error comes and goes. immediately after upgrading, everything worked great. then boom, all of a sudden, fatal error on every page with not even the tiniest bit of code change. i am really interested in upgrading, especially since we are using 4.0.1pl2 with some cvs code in there to fix the session bug on our production machine but we are noticing that the same bug reoccurs very occasionally and very sporadically. any advice tremendously appreciated. sharri