New to Flash

I am new to Flash and I have run into a problem.
I have downloaded flash files from Kirupa that create a countdown timer…thanks by the way.
I have used these files as an example and I have recreated the countdown timer as a learning experience…however, when I execute and debug my code…the call to MovieClip.prototype.evaluateFrameFrom = function(variableClip) is supposed to send me into Counter.onEnterFrame = function()…instead it doesn’t call the function…what I traced it to is in the debug it reads _level0.instance1, where in your code it reads _level0.counter…when I change counter.onEnterFrame = function() to instance1.onEnterFrame = function() everything works fine…the question is, how do I get the code counter.onEnterFrame = function() to work. Am I missing a step to define the counter variable and it defaults to instance? Again, I am new to this so if it an obvious problem, I apologize.