I usually can hold ";A"; and click on a note to add an accent to that note. When I am working in a template from ";thewritescore"; there are no shortcuts like this to use. Any ideas?

What software and OS are you using? And exactly which Template?

I have:

Mac OS X 10.10.3
VDL 2.5.5
Finale 2014
thewritescore Finale 2014 update

And I am using the Battery template.

*sidenote, when I click on percussion notation style settings, it doesn't have the VDL instrument layouts.... any ideas on that? (this is NOT in a template)

The VDL percussion layouts are included only within the template files. You will not see them in other Finale files. To include add them to non-template Finale files you must import the VDL Percussion Library found in the purchased template package. Know that when you import that VDL percussion library there will be some duplication of text expressions. Primarily those that are found in any default Finale file.