IN dreamweaver 8...

...how do i set an image as a background so that i can type text over it?

 

Use css.

Place the image in a div tag or if you are using tables place the image in a named td tag:

<div class="imagebackground"><p>text here</p></div>

Or

<table>
<tr>
<td class="imagebackground"><p>all your text</p></td>
</tr>
</table>

Creat a div.imagebackground{place image ifo here} or td.imagebackground{place image info in here} in a css file or at the top of your html page.