I am trying to run a function from a PHP script in the form action.
Is it really a function call on the action attribute? or it should be on the onSUbmit attribute, because by convention action attribute needs a page/URL.
I think you should use AJAX with that,
There are plenty PHP AJAX Frameworks to choose from
http://www.phplivex.com/example/submitting-html-forms-with-ajax
http://www.xajax-project.org/en/docs-tutorials/learn-xajax-in-10-minutes/
ETC.
Or the classic way
http://www.w3schools.com/php/php_ajax_php.asp
I hope these links help