flash ad development: I have seen ads in the past hover over the main area of a website. When the
user chooses to close it, the add will then minimize and dock into a
predetermined area on the site. I have not been able to find any tutorials on
this. Can anyone help out?

I have a mock one http://www.twincitieschurch.com although the flash is all in
the same cell of the page

You will need to utilize a rich media solution like pointroll, dart-motif or the like. Their technology allows for what you wish to do.

www.pointroll.com

It is on a page I control but hosting is not in my control. In other words I
built the site and control all the elements on it but only have an FTP access
to the host. I do know the owner of the hosting so I can talk to him about
configuration if that is needed.

ok, then do a search for WMODE in this forum and elsewhere. I have not used it
personally. It's been documented to be buggy but apparently it's the only way
to accomplish what you are looking for without using a 3rd party app.