hey there I am using avid express pro the academic version on a mac.

I am sure this is really simple but I am having the hardest time with it. I would like the title of the movie to fade in-out while the video is playing. I tried using the fade effect but its not working. Then I got it to work by nesting the title and the clip but its cuts of the clip and appear with a black background  which i don't want.

Can anyone help?

Place the Title on V2.  Add a quick dissolve on both ends.

when the title is on v2 and the vidoe is on v1 the title does not show up only the video

Check that V2 is selected.  Also, see if Render-on-the-fly is turned on in the Special Menu.

See:

 Make sure the monitor icon just to the right of the track selector buttons is on V2, not V1. In multiple layer compositions, that icon determines the highest track displayed when the timeline is playing or parked. CTRL + clicking on it will monitor only that particular track, ignoring those below and above.

And make sure the "V" is lit up on Title Tool when you create the title so it's a key and not a matte.