I am customizing the standard MinimalExtropy skin and have added the below class to the skin.css.  I apply this to a table cell.  The HTML at the bottom is from firebug so I know it is applying the class and isn't being trumped by another class.  However firebug can't display the image thumbnail so I figured path issue.  I read other posts and have tried many different paths to the file and copied the file to every skin and portal path I could think of.  

I applied the same class to the containers.css and placed the file in the contaner/images folder and it works great but I don't want to display the container for this content.  I bet it something simple but I am stumped.

.textcontainer {
    background-image: url(portals/0/images/text_gradient.gif);
    background-position: center top;
    background-repeat: no-repeat;
    margin: 0;
    padding: 15px;
}

<td align="left" valign="top" style="height: 120px;" class="textcontainer">
                                    <h1> <a href="http://restaurantmagic.com/rmsite/sol..." title="Click here for details">
                                    <h2>Lower Your Food Costs</h2>
                                    </a> </h1>
                                    <p> <a href="http://restaurantmagic.com/rmsite/sol...">
                                    <p style="font-style: normal;">From ordering through inventory, you can manage the entire supply chain cycle in one place. Learn how Data Central can help your business ensure quality and lower costs.</p>
                                    </a> </p>
                                    </td>