Addin not working as expected when using on a different computer in the same network

[dmcgov]

I have a pretty big addin that is used by the company i work for. Using Ken Puls workaround for networked addins. so when i publish my code, it opens up the readonly copy (in the Addins folder), removes the readonly flag, copies over the file and then adds the readonly flag back. all is good so far.

but when i open up the readonly copy in another computer, VBA complains that it doesn't know what Left or Right or Mid (just some of the few that came up) and the only fix is to put 'VBA.' in front of the command. but when i check my references, i see a check mark next to VBA and the Location is the same in both. All computers are using Office 365 for Business.

How can i fix this issue. (not the first time it has come up)

[dmcgov]

turns out it was a missing reference that caused all the headaches.