Thanks Jason,
I think I fixed it by having the uploader store the file based on its file name (as I had done before), then I added a field for file extension in my database table. For the update record behavior I had the file name written based on the simple file name and the extension carries just the extension. Then I call the file using both those fields and it worked!
I saw that in a version of the Power Gallery I've been playing with.
Is this the right approach? If it can be done better I can send the file but for now it seems to work so I won't mess with it anymore!