Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Yes...just be sure to use the Format menu to set it to plain text, and be sure to save as *.html, not *.html.txt.
 
Make sure you don't have a SAVE window open in the text file, and press SHIFT + APPLE KEY + T

This will put it into plain text mode....
 
Yes... it sounds like you were editing in rich text mode. You need plain text mode.
 
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.