You can do this by assigning a class to the cells you want to have a different background color:

Go to the code view in Dreamweaver. Find the <td> directly preceding any cells you want to add a background color to. Change <td> to <td class="coloredbkg">

Now go back to design view. Add a new CSS style to your site named .coloredbkg (the period IS necessary). Change the background color any any other parameters.

I tried this and in dreamweaver the cells i wanted to be red are red but when i try to look at it in a browser there is no color. (everything is saved recently, there is a # sign before the color)

Hmmm... make sure you have the "" around your class in the code and that the browser is refreshed.

If that doesn't fix it, you can always send us a link yo your site on your mywebspace and we can look at the code...

Hmmm. Try this:
- click inside the cell
- in the tag selector at the bottom of the document window, select the <td> tag
- in the properties palette, set format to none and class to none
- in the properties palette, find the setting labeled Bg
- click on it and choose a color
If this does not work, e-mail me the URL for the problematic page