thanks inebriate,
I double checked my directory path statements and they are valid.
To test, I created a test.js javascript file and placed it in the same folder that the drop down menu javascript file (p7popmenu.js) is, loaded the test.js w/in home.tpl (exactly as I did for p7popmenu.js) and called for the function (contained in the test.js file) in head.tpl and it works.
Whereas calling for the function contained in the p7popmenu.js in the head.tpl does not work.
I also tried put the actual javascript for the drop down menu into the home.tpl but that also did not work.
This is the "preview" of my head.tpl, at the top you can see the date modified that is generated by test.js, just below the banner images, you can see my drop down menu (this is what it would look like in a non-css compatible browser) -- don't know if that helps anything, but here;s the link:
http://www.hearnehardwoods.com/xcart/test.gif
http://www.hearnehardwoods.com/xcart/test.gif