so i did what you suggested, and still got an error. so i contacted hostmonster and here is what they said
Thank you for contacting us. That index file is trying to include /zp-core/template-functions.php. This PHP file within the /zp-core does not exist. Please contact the developer of the ZenCart about obtaining this file to upload to the /zp-core. Sometimes a fresh install of script can provide that file as well.
i transfered the missing file via filezilla and the error messaged changed. i am not getting this:
Warning: require_once(/home1/whiteknu/public_html/home1/whiteknu/public_html/customerrigs/zp-core/lib-utf8.php) [function.require-once]: failed to open stream: No such file or directory in /home1/whiteknu/public_html/home1/whiteknu/public_html/customerrigs/zp-core/functions-basic.php on line 45
Fatal error: require_once() [function.require]: Failed opening required '/home1/whiteknu/public_html/home1/whiteknu/public_html/customerrigs/zp-core/lib-utf8.php' (include_path='.:/usr/lib64/php:/usr/lib/php:/usr/share/pear') in /home1/whiteknu/public_html/home1/whiteknu/public_html/customerrigs/zp-core/functions-basic.php on line 45
im really lost. ive tried replacing the files with unedited ones, editing them, etc. im not sure what else to do with it.