You're reporting problems with DokuWiki (in this thread and another one), which really does not have anyone besides you. You can convince yourself by looking for these issues in this forum. You will not find anything like that. For this reason, I have only one explanation: You damage DokuWiki by your direct changes to files.
Let's start with a very simple point:
no changes I make in the configuration settings have any effect whatsoever
1.) Make a fresh new installation of DokuWiki.
2.) Do not make changes to any file!
3.) Go to the configuration settings
4.) Change the title in the title field.
5.) Got to the bottom of the page and click the Save button.
Feedback welcome - Michael Sy.