strange automake configure problem

[<nuke bayside net>]

this is now happening to *EVERY* gtk-based program i have. gimp, the gnome
progs, etc.

./autogen.sh

...

creating libtool
./configure: line 2001: syntax error near unexpected token
`AM_PATH_GTK(,,{'
./configure: line 2001: `       AM_PATH_GTK(,,{ echo "configure: error:
Cannot find GTK: is gtk-config in path?" 1>&2; exit 1; })'
configure: error: ./configure failed for blah


i'm not sure who or what to contact about this, so i'm posting across a
couple lists. it looks like something is wrong with the .m4

i'm using:
linux 2.0.33
automake 1.2
autoconf 2.12
GNU libc 2.0.7pre1
bash 2.01
binutils 2.8.1

 _        _  __     __             _ _                                  _
|        / |/ /_ __/ /_____         |       Nuke Skyjumper               |
|       /    / // /  '_/ -_)        |         "Master of the Farce"      |
|_     /_/|_/\_,_/_/\_\\__/        _|_           nuke@bayside.net       _|