Load string from dynamic text field as variable

I am trying to grab a string that is loaded into my dynamic text field and use it as a variable.

The text field is populated when another button is pressed first which says input_txt.text = "myInput"

...I gave my dynamic text field the instance name input_txt

So I wrote out (on a separate button):

on (release) {
var input:String = input_txt;
trace(input);
}

I get "undefined" as my output

Any suggestion? Thanks!

As soon as I posted this I realized I didn't append ".text" to "input_txt"

nevermind...