Trying to debug a simple script

I'm just learning scripting and trying to write a script to automate the process of creating blend shapes based on a world space modifier. I have a plane that is projected via conform space warp onto an animated object. What I do is scrub from one frame to the next, duplicating the projected geo, collapsing to the WSM modifier in the stack (which creates a static mesh "snapshot" of the mesh) which I can later use as blend shapes. The steps I want to perform with the script are:

- duplicate selected mesh
- collapse to WSM on duped mesh
- rename new mesh with current frame number
- repeat for each frame in slider range
- pop up a "done" window when finished

So far, I have one version that works, but doesn't scrub through the timeline itself. I have to run the script for each frame:

BaseMorphMesh = $
clearSelection()
CurrentFrame = sliderTime
EndFrame = animationRange.end
if CurrentFrame < EndFrame then
	(
	select BaseMorphMesh
	CurrentFrameName = sliderTime as string
	TrimmedFrameName = trimright CurrentFrameName "f"
	maxOps.cloneNodes $ cloneType:#copy newNodes:&nnl
	select nnl
	$.name = TrimmedFrameName
	maxOps.CollapseNodeTo $ 1 true
	move $ [200,0,0]
	clearSelection()
	sliderTime += 1
	)
else
messageBox "Done"

and another version which seems to generate the proper snapshots, but gets stuck in some kind of death loop and freezes up Max:

BaseMorphMesh = $
clearSelection()
CurrentFrame = sliderTime
EndFrame = animationRange.end
while CurrentFrame < EndFrame do
	(
	select BaseMorphMesh
	CurrentFrameName = sliderTime as string
	TrimmedFrameName = trimright CurrentFrameName "f"
	maxOps.cloneNodes $ cloneType:#copy newNodes:&nnl
	select nnl
	$.name = TrimmedFrameName
	maxOps.CollapseNodeTo $ 1 true
	move $ [200,0,0]
	clearSelection()
	sliderTime += 1
	)
when CurrentFrame == EndFrame do
messageBox "Done"

I tried defining the process as a function as well, but my syntax is apparently wrong and it doesn't seem to call the function:

BaseMorphMesh = $
clearSelection()
fn stuff =
	(
	select BaseMorphMesh
	CurrentFrameName = sliderTime as string
	TrimmedFrameName = trimright CurrentFrameName "f"
	maxOps.cloneNodes $ cloneType:#copy newNodes:&nnl
	select nnl
	$.name = TrimmedFrameName
	maxOps.CollapseNodeTo $ 1 true
	move $ [200,0,0]
	clearSelection()
	sliderTime += 1
	)
CurrentFrame = sliderTime
EndFrame = animationRange.end
if CurrentFrame < EndFrame then stuff
else
messageBox "Done"

Any advice would be much appreciated.