CGI, Apache Server questions - Testing CGI Capabilities

Is there anyone who knows a bunch about server-side applications and cgi scripts, etc, who would possibly be willing to help me with some issues?

Let me clue you in on what you may be up against. When it comes to server stuff, I’m quite a moron. I have been trying to work with cgi scripts and instead of them getting executed, I just see the code in the browser window. I have spent hours messing with this stuff trying to work it out.

I’ve tried:
–755 and 766 permissions
–going through Apache help files
– and a lot more

But I just don’t have the knowledge to even somehow test the server to see if it can execute a simple .cgi file, apart from typing in the path to the .cgi file itself and seeing the code…

If there is anyone that has the time to help me, I’d appreciate it. Thanks.