WP 2.5 Doesnt let me assign templates to certain pages

The Page Template box only appears when you have:
a) Page Templates in the theme, and
b) A generic page.php file in the theme.

Make sure those exist.

ok i will have to try that out, do i just need to make a themes folder and put an archive.php file in there?

Ive noticed there is an archive.php template included in with the theme and uploaded onto the server. I guess I just need help with assigning that one to a certain page?

archive.php is NOT a Page template.

page.php is the default Page template and you need another one, too, made as it is described in the Codex:
Pages#Creating_Your_Own_Page_Templates

ok I am gonna try that now. Then what exactly is archive.php…and how do I tell the difference between a template page and a regular page?

Mandatory reading: Template_Hierarchy
archive.php is the template used to display your monthly and category archives – it is one of the so-called multipost view templates (together with index, search, category.php…)

Some themes come with an additional Page template called archives.php – notice the plural S at the end; to display a list of months and categories.

I don’t understand your question: what is a “regular page”?
(and there is no such thing as “template page”… only Page template)

https://www.gulfcoastfishingforum.com/?page_id=3

Thanks for your help Moshu and Otto! Got it working somewhat, does anyone know why it looks like that?

Moshu – I guess I just dont have the wordpress Lingo down,what I mean by a “regular” page was something such as a contact page or the about us page.

Could it possibly be something with the css? Im still new to WP, especially WP 2.5