how do you insert gradients and fills on flash?

Well whatever you do, DON'T look at your color selection menu.

well I did and all I found was a paint bucket that for some reason won't fill anything at all... yeeeeah =/

If it doesn't fill, it means that whatever you're filling isn't' all the way enclosed

use the line tool, make sure you don't have drawing objects turned on [flash 8 and CS3 only] then draw a box bu make sure that you make the lines extend out of the box so you know all the lines have cross. now select the paint bucket [the bucket, not the other one that looks like a ink can] now choose your fill color, selecting the radial and linear color gradients makes your fill a gradient. you can use the color mixer to change the colors in the gradient, click anywhere on the bar you see to add another color, and click and drag a color tab off the bar to get rid of it. You have to have at least 2 at all times though. now just click inside the box with the paint bucket. TADA! you're done... You can use this for any enclosed area on a single layer.

how do I make a background color for like a sky or something? just enclose the whole stage in a box? Thats what I was trying to do and it wouldn't just fill the blank background.

oh and thank you for being so nice in responding to my simple sounding question :)

Skies are easy. If it's going to be an unchanging environment, just click the stage (selecting nothing, just clicking on the pad), and in the properties menu, you'll see Background color: {wite}

Select a light blue, and add clouds, and a sun for a sky.

If you don't want to change the blackground, do what I do constantly:
1. Make a box with no lines (click on the line color selection, and on the top of the color panel you see, there's a [/] red box with a slash thing. This means, No color. Click and you have no lines.)
2. Make the box the dimension of your movie by clicking on the lineless fill box you've made going into properties, and adjusting its width, height, x, and y positions.
3. Make it a graphic, or an MC.