How do you combine 2 php projects

I have 2 php runner projects. Both have a login page. They use the same userid file.
I inserted a hyperlink in project1 on the list page of a table.
I log into project 1

click on hyperlink and go to project2

I do not get login page (which is good)

I can see my userid saying logged in as XXXXX
I can add records to a table but it does not store the userid.

If when in project2 and I log out I can log in as XXXXX and then add records and my userid of XXXXX gets stored.
Seems like something is missing on project2
Here is before process in project2
//** Custom code ****

// put your custom code here

//print $GLOBALS['UserID'];

//print $_SESSION["UserID"];

if ($_SESSION["UserID"])

{

//$_SESSION["UserID"] = ($GLOBALS['UserID']);

$_SESSION["AccessLevel"] = ACCESS_LEVEL_USER;

header("Location: Practice_list.php");
exit();

}
any ideas?