how do i book an award flight?
 

i know this is a basic question, but there doesnt seem to be much info on how to book an actual flight. It is my understanding that i can use delta points to book a flight on any skyteam member, correct? So how do i do it?? there is really no information on the delta site about how to go about doing this. I tried searching, but not even sure what i should search for

If you're redeeming Delta miles, you book your award through Delta by calling (or online if flights are operated by Delta, Alaska, Hawaiian, Air France or KLM).

http://www.delta.com/skymiles/use_miles/index.jsp

online booking on Delta.com seems lame
 

When I try to scope out possible Air France flights from IAD to CDG using Delta.com, the system seems to randomly decide to either hide or reveal the nonstop flight options on Air France.

Half the time it shows a dozen options with connections, and NONE of the nonstop options. What is that BS about?

Welcome to the wonderful world of Delta web infrastructure. If you're new to this site, then you probably don't know that the Delta website is just plain broken. Your results are not in the least bit unusual.