[Lynne]

The source code is what is sent to your browser to make the page you see. The source code is defined by your templates, as you said. I just looked again at your images, and I think I was wrong about it being because the row/column height was set taller than the image. It actually looks like the text is causing the row height to be taller than the image. The way vbulletin deals with this is by making the image much taller than needed and then if the text makes the row taller, the image just fills it in. For instance, look at the Category Strips (where Quick Reply is):

That image is much taller than is needed. You only see the top part used. But, when that image is used in other places and the row gets stretched taller, the image just fills it in rather than adding plain color. So, you need to either make your background image taller or somehow tile the image (which may look strange) or pick a background colors that complements the image color.