My "symbols" is missing from the Insert menu. i cannot find it
anywhere else and cannot get it back. Any ideas on how to get options
back on menus?
Make sure you didn't accidentally turn on "Word 5.1 Menus". Look under View
to see if there's a check next to that option. If that isn't the problem:
If you go to Tools | Customize Toolbars/Menus, select the Menu Bar, and
click Reset, it should set all your main menus and built-in toolbars back to
the default.
If you have customized your menus or toolbars, you may want to explore the
Tools | Customize, Commands dialog, and drag the commands you are missing
back to the toolbars/menus yourself, rather than wipe out your
customizations by clicking Reset.