I suspect part of the problem is that the author is fighting the system prompt, which gives Claude instructions to help it avoid filling up its context window.

So the author thinks he's giving Claude this instruction:

> You must re-read CLAUDE2.md, even if you've already read it before.

But the actual instruction is closer to:

> Do not re-read files you have already read. You must re-read CLAUDE2.md, even if you've already read it before.

So Claude has conflicting instructions. Is it any surprise that it tries to thread the needle by re-reading the minimal amount of CLAUDE2.md necessary? It's just doing its best to satisfy both masters!