Photoshop image as a template for my site?

I need some help with a site that I am doing. I am having total HTML thinking failure and I cannot figure out how to make and Image that I have Sliced in Image ready and exported and use it as a site template. I have places on the image that I made where I would like to input the HTML and web content, the problem is that i cannot remember how to set it up so that I am able to put multiple tables on the image and set it up so that I may put the text on top of the image that I have created. For some reason setting the background of the tables as teh sliced images is not working and then setting the size or percent and then putting the

<tr> and <td>

tags and enabling myself to be able to have other text and pictures set up on the template.
I do not want to use iFrames for this site. I created a slice top middle and bottom section of the image which will be the site. I know that I will set the bottom slice of the image as its own table so that it may be moved down as a result of more content. I am not sure how to keep the gradient fill backing that I have if i do go longer.
Here is the site: http://lucentcomputers.com//dhhs/dhhs.html

My questions to those willing to help are:
How can I use the slices as the background and place text over them?
How can I make my image so that it will use the sliver gradient fill as the page goes on where the content is?
How can I put DHTML or Javascript menus into the tabbed buttons that I have created at the top of the image?

I know that is a lot of question and a huge brain failure, but I would appreciate the help. It is for my schools soccer team and i would really like to get it up and working.

-Ryan