okay so i figured out… i am using wordpress 2.9 the default template
and in single php i have this line:
<?php the_content('<p class="serif">Read the rest of this entry »</p>'); ?>
from what i’ve read about the_content(); it seems all i need to do is change the line above in:
<?php the_content('<p class="serif">Read the rest of this entry »</p>',TRUE,''); ?> and everything works!
that TRUE stands for hide text above the <–!more–> tag… exactly what i was aiming for!
thank you Chris_K for your help!
best of luck
