Placing a banner section in the page

Hi All!

I am using a Zen sub-theme and I am pretty sure I have it set it up correctly. I have added the banner variable in the page.tpl.php file, styles in the pages.css file. I am an experienced html/css user so I think I understand how the negative right margins work to make the page components daisy chain together. My problem is that I can not get the banner positioned where I want it in the template. I've printed out the reference card which shows the source order for Zen and I've moved the banner variable where I thought it should go to get the right positioning but it does not work. I am trying to translate this design into a Drupal theme.

Original Design:
http://www.csun.edu/webcom/jet.shtml

My Drupal 6 version:
http://www.krometyphoon.com/harmony/

I've messed with the right margin/styles for the banner div, moved the php variable around but all to no avail. Any help would be greatly appreciated! I love Drupal but have yet to have the "aha" moment that means I get it-I hope understanding what I am doing wrong here will help me get there. Thanks again to the Drupal community!