Getting TEXT content to variable

[ftg]

LT 24 and code neophyte here.
My issue is so simple that I think I don't know how to properly ask/search for a solution.

I just need to get a variable from existing TEXT entity (its contents, a number) so I can use it to figure and fill in other TEXT entities. Length and Width to fill in Area sorta stuff.
I can reliably input, operate,  and replace TEXT values from handle ids, but if I access the same item as I do with simple user fill

(setq textvalue (cdr (assoc 1 entid)))

I want this textvalue to do some math in the next line and then rtos princ that result to another existing TEXT entity. I get an error and the textvalue as the reason why.

I believe this is a type error; the item is returning as a list, not a real/int. This makes sense to me.
So I atof or atoi textvalue, but it's still not satisfied. 
I've tried simply removing the 1. from the return, but that's not it either.