install-info & Perl troubles?

["Gregory P. Smith" <smithgr@nago.cs.colorado.edu>]

Lately I've ended up with a pretty trashed system due to "install-info"
failing with what looks to me like a Perl bug:

Can't "last" outside a block at /usr/sbin/install-info line 223.

as well as:

install-info: failed to lock dir for editing! File exists
try deleting /usr/info/dir.lock ?

The install-info script is the 11024 byte one found in dpkg 1.4.0.31.
Perl is perl 5.004.04-6.  Line 223 of install-info looks like a
perfectly legitimate "last" to me (within a do {} until loop).

This is preventing me from installing a working compiler system and
upgrading many other packages.  

Any help is appreciated.

thanks,
Greg