bluefoottart,
Apparently, you only get columns when you create blog posts, NOT pages. I made that mistake, too.
I found this template because it said it was a portfolio theme. In actuality it is a Blog theme. So, I ended up having to do some workarounds to get it display the way I wanted.
It was not ideal, but it worked. Basically, all my “pages” were created as blog posts, so they display as a portfolio page with columns.
Not perfect, but to will do for now!
Hope this helps…