mr-niceguy-1

file permissions were the problem, our testing server is wacky and likes to mess with me

well look at the bright side, after going through your css file a second time, you will:
1. be much faster than the first time
2. learn more css
3. remember to backup your database before letting wordpress do anything automatic for you

and for future reference, I would take your customized theme and rename it to something else besides default or classic, that way your files and work are safe.

oh yeah, backup your database and all your files before doing anything, shit, you should have a backup of your website regardless, whether you were going to upgrade or not, computers and servers have been known to crash and lose all of their data

no of course not, I also tried shortening the name of the file to calc.php, and I tried getting it to work in the classic theme with the same results, which leads me to believe that it is a problem with our testing server…

What is odd, however, is that I have used this same server in the past and had no issues with adding new template files to my themes, the only variable I can think of that is different with this site is the database, I just need someone to tell me what it is exactly that is causing this so I can get it fixed

sorry I screwed up. should be:

$imgSrc = get_post_meta($post->ID, 'news-image', true);

and now for some reason the template won’t show up at all in the dropdown in the admin section. I can’t believe this is only affecting me?? I have used this same database and server for prior wordpress installs and never come across this??

get_post_meta($post_id, $key, $single);

$key = your custom field name (ie news-image)
$single = true

so for you it should be

$imgSrc = get_post_meta($post_id, 'news-image', true);

if you want to use the get_post_custom_value function, your problem probably (can’t tell without the source) is because you have it outside of the loop