Is there anyway to see items that may be on backorder when we print out the packing slip? or see at sales order entry that an item is out of stock without having to check stock status on each line?

Where do I set the warning?

We can't use Calc BO on Available to Ship  

We do not use any of the safeguards mentioned above, but I have tried all of them. Like others, we make a great portion of what we sell after the order is received. Recently we have stopped using the SO-A module entirely. When it got to the point that we were having order entry people use either SO-A or SO-P-A or SO-P-F or SR-A, depending on the circumstance, we finally took the bull by the horns and unified all order entry into one web form. In addition to unifying the entry point, we can now programmatically control, direct or restrict everything. Now, during order entry, the user is informed whether something is in stock and how long it will take to make if it is not. Information about work in process and competing orders pops up on one click. Lots of things are possible.
 
I am not bringing this up to criticize DBA/Evo nor am I trying to gloat. On the contrary, I think that the T7 version of SO-A could benefit from a few of these ideas. For instance, it could have a select list to chose SO, Quote, or RMA at input or lookup time. It could have more/better user options for the BO question, and it could certainly show BO / WO /availability info for the product. What else would be of great assistance to your order entry and customer service people?