I don't think anyone is saying that. Everyone seems to have a good handle on proper coding techniques. They just differ on the tool to get them there.
OP-
I use Photoshop to design, keeping in mind that I'll do as much as possible to recreate the design with html/css rather than images. I slice the pieces I'll actually use and export them as pngs to get the best quality. Then I use the raw coding side of Dreamweaver to build the site. I've used text-based editors in the past and sometimes will use the text editor in Transmit (great mac ftp program) to make a quick fix but from scratch I'm used to Dreamweaver (but really use it more as a text editor now that I am at a certain skill level). I find the file management and css tools very convenient and the raw code/WYSIWYG split view is great for basic sites to preview your progress, especially when trying out css styles and learning what are good font sizes, padding, margins, etc.
I started learning how to build websites back in the '90s when it was new and still remember when people started using tables and image maps to make more visually attractive websites. What a revolution that was at the time! Of course, now you are a hack if you use tables for layout. I learned to build websites mostly by finding sites I liked and viewing the code behind them, picking it apart to see what does what. Same with javascript. Kind of like the way people from other countries learn english from American tv shows and magazines. Basically, I learned from other people and then used that information to try building pages on my own. As I got more comfortable, I was able to learn more advanced methods from books, seminars and online tutorials.
Of course, nowadays there are college classes, Lynda.com etc. to learn things faster but nothing replaces actually building things and finding out what works and what doesn't. Browser differences aren't nearly as frustrating now as they were back then but there are still enough differences to make you want to pull your hair out when you can't make the experience you want the same for everyone. Please don't be the kind of designer who only builds for Internet Explorer and tells everyone else (particularly Mac people) to suck it up. Design for the web standards compliant browsers first and learn the workarounds to make IE work last.
It's good that you want to take control of the process from beginning to end. My first web design position was created because the creative department would design a beautiful website, send it to IT for coding, only to find it butchered because the IT people didn't have the same design aesthetic or attention to design detail. They brought me in because I could turn a design into a site without messing it up. Unfortunately, the IT people resented the loss of control and made my work life hell to get things accomplished, but I digress...
Many people believe the guru for website design and development is Jeffrey Zeldman. He has spearheaded the effort to make browsers more standards-compliant so we don't have to create special browser-specific coding. Be a loyal follower of his blog, http://www.zeldman.com/ , and you'll get many resources to the best methods for design, css, html and more. Good luck!