Duplicate Template Variables & Use It Within Another Template?

[Freesteyelz]

I've read quite a bit of helpful threads/tutorials here. I know how to create a custom template and set it in plugins then call from within another template. I was wondering, however, how would I go about creating a template that uses the variables of an existing template such as "threadbit"? Example below...

I want to create a template called "threadbit_test". In it I want to copy/paste the content from "threadbit" template. I then want to use "threadbit_test" template inside "threadbit" template such as:

In threadbit template code applied:

<if condition="in_array($forumid, array(x,y,z))">
   $threadbit_test
<else />
   threadbit content here
</if>

For some reason the variables I took from threadbit template do not display in $threadbit_test? The only way (right now) I'm able to display the variables of threadbit template is to literally copy it and replace it where $threadbit_test is in the code example. It's rather cluttered.

Do I need to cache and parse the $threadbit_test template or hook it to threadbit_display or another area in the plugins such as global_start?

Your help is appreciated.