Can't pass variable through page into portlet

[andyfl]

Hi All,
A report has hypertext items in one column.
When one of these items is clicked, the url
resolved contains the address of a page plus
a variable 'TAB_VAL' i wish to use.

This page then loads on the browser and i can
see the 'TAB_VAL' value in the page address line.

The page contains a portal which is a report.
That report is a select statement using the
aforementioned variable. The page does not
seem to pass the variable to it's portal.

here is the code
1. The 1st report hypertext.
html<machineort>servlet/page?_pageid=109&_dad=portal30&_schema=PORTAL30&p_arg_names=TAB_VAL&p_arg_values=123456

2. The HTML Portal code (customize) in the Page.
<html_frame_stuff
SRC=&quot;html<machine/port>/pls/portal30/<2nd_REPORT>.show?p_arg_names=TAB_VAL&p_arg_values=||TAB_VAL||&quot;>
</html_frame_stuff>

3. The 2nd_REPORT code.
select * from <TABLE>
where TAB_VAL=:TAB_VAL

Please tell me where i'm going wrong ??????????