Only on single post pages:
1. The entire background is gray instead of white as it is on pages, including the home page
2. No side bar or footer even though singlepost.php file shows <?php get_sidebar();?> <?php get_footer();?> at the bottom of the code
WordPress, by default, doesn’t call singlepost.php but single.php. If you don’t have a single.php, rename singlepost.php to single.php. If you do have a single.php file, odds are it’s not calling get_sidebar() because the sidebar (and the div that clears it) are not showing up.