Upgrades not applying after first death

Yes, I instantiate the prefab. The new instance is as I want it, however as I said, it won't take the new powerups. Here are the scripts, I hope they're not too messy because I had to copy/paste everything into notepad because this site was bugging out for me.

The powerup spawns by chance when you kill enemies: (part of the laser_script, a component of the laser itself.)

 if (col.gameObject.tag =="Enemy"){
     manager.ShipsKilled++; 
     manager.points = manager.points + 100; 
     number = Random.Range(minRNG, maxRNG);
     if (number == 1) {
         number = Random.Range(minRNG, maxRNG);
         if (number > 5){ //if roll is higher than 5, spawn shield, if less than, spawn wep powerup, min/max default is 1/10
             Instantiate(shield_powerup,transform.position,Quaternion.identity);
         }
         if (number < 5){
             Instantiate(wep_powerup,transform.position,Quaternion.identity);
         }
   }
       Instantiate(enemydeath_pref, Vector3(transform.position.x,transform.position.y, 2), Quaternion.identity); //spawns particle emmiter on death
        enemydeath_pref.particleSystem.Emit == true;
         Destroy(col.gameObject); //destroy the enemy ship
   if(player.wep2 == false){
      Destroy(gameObject); // destroy the weapon particle if it's not wep2.
   }
 }

aaaand to apply/delete the power up: (this is a part of the playerscript, a component of the player)

  if (col.gameObject.tag == "wep_up"){
             if (upgrade.PowType == 1){ 
                 if (wep1 == false){        
                     wep1 = true;
                     wep2 = false;
                     wep3 = false;
                     PowLvl = 1;
                 }
                 else{
                     PowLvl++;
                 
                 }
             }
             if (upgrade.PowType == 2){
                 if (wep2 == false){        
                     wep1 = false;
                     wep2 = true;
                     wep3 = false;
                     PowLvl = 1;
                 }
                 else{
                     PowLvl++;
                 
                 }
             }
             if (upgrade.PowType == 3){
                 if (wep3 == false){        
                     wep1 = false;
                     wep2 = false;
                     wep3 = true;
                     PowLvl = 1;
                 }
                 else{
                     PowLvl++;
                 
                 }
             
             
             }
             Instantiate(shield_pref, Vector3(transform.position.x,transform.position.y, 2), Quaternion.identity);
             shield_pref.particleSystem.Emit == true;
             Destroy(col.gameObject);
         }
 

When hit by an enemy ship or projectile, player death: (playerscript agian)

  if (col.gameObject.tag == "Enemy" || col.gameObject.tag == "Boss_Shot" || col.gameObject.tag == "asteroid"){
                 Destroy(col.gameObject);
                 if (Shield == true){ //if you have a shield, adjust the player texture on hit to remove the shield
                     renderer.material.mainTextureOffset = Vector2(0.0,0.5);
                     Instantiate(shield_die, Vector3(transform.position.x,transform.position.y, 2), Quaternion.identity); //play an effect when the shield dies
                     shield_die.particleSystem.Emit == true;
                     Shield = false; //boolean disable the shield
                     return;
                 }
             manager.deathTime = Time.time; //add a brief delay after death
             manager.deathTimer = false;
             Destroy(gameObject); // destroy the player
             Explosion_Pref.particleSystem.Emit == true; //spawn a particle on death
             Instantiate(Explosion_Pref, Vector3(transform.position.x,transform.position.y, 2), Quaternion.identity);
         }

To respawn the player: (this is the managerscript, located in a "gamemanager" emptyobject so it is always present)

 if (player == null && playerLives >= 1 && deathTime == 0){
         playerLives --;
         Instantiate(playerShip, Vector3(0,-4.5,2), Quaternion.identity);
         player = GameObject.FindGameObjectWithTag("Player");
         spawn_pref.particleSystem.Emit == true;
         Instantiate(spawn_pref, Vector3(0,-4.5, 2), Quaternion.identity);
     }
 
     if (player == null && playerLives >= 1 && deathTime > 0 && deathTimer == false){
         respawn();
     }
 

and the respawn() function:

     function respawn(){
             deathTimer = true;
             yield WaitForSeconds(1);
             playerLives --;
             Instantiate(playerShip, Vector3(0,-4.5,2), Quaternion.identity);
             player = GameObject.FindGameObjectWithTag("Player");            
             player.collider.isTrigger = true;
             spawn_pref.particleSystem.Emit == true;
             Instantiate(spawn_pref, Vector3(0,-4.5, 2), Quaternion.identity);
             yield WaitForSeconds(1.5);
             player.collider.isTrigger = false;
             
 }