I have the 8703e from verizon, which is currently running v4.2.1.106 (platform 2.3.0.20). Im not sure if this is the most recent upgrade, but i doubt this is the cause of my problem.

I finally found a today theme that has been made for the 8700 series: in downloading both ways (ota and desktop) several times, it still never works...
it shows up in the list under themes yet it does not have an option to activate like the other themes do...
Any suggestions?

Welcome to BBF.

Did you reboot after installing? If so, was the theme made for the 4.2 OS?

yes and yes

and thanks for the welcome

Is the Plazmic_theme_reader installed on your device?

Also mae sure you have the Dimension Today theme installed. You need that theme first.

Ah yes! You are correct. Good catch!

thanks for the advice...
but the next question is:
1. where do i get the plazmic theme reader? (ive installled other 3rd party themes, so i may already have it))
2. where do i get the dimension today theme?

If you are running 4.2.1 you DO NOT need to install the theme reader. It is already included.

Follow this to add Dimension Today: How to Add Today Themes to the 8703e with 4.2.1 - BlackBerryFAQ