Hey Chris,
I owe you a huge apology...I wasted your time.
So, after trying all the various combinations you suggested, I remembered that when I first tried you original suggestion:
<table class="forumlist" id="forumlist-<?php forum_id(); ?>">
that I had put it on two lines. So, the "id" line started with a black (rather than light green) "id." I thought, "Oh, that needs to be green," so I went ahead and added < to begin the line.
Obviously I'm learning this stuff as I go. Anyway, I went back, used you original method all on one line without adding the extra < and, guess what? It all validated.
I'm an idiot. Sorry for waisting your time and thanks for making it work.
Oh, also, I didn't want the "Hot Tags" so I justed cut that entire Div out. Everything still seems to work and still validates, but I worry that I shouldn't have done that. What do you think?
I signed up for adsense and I'm thinking of putting ad code where hot tags was