'they said they "lost" the registration so I have to come back. Seem wierd? Does to me. Also, in the carfax report, the last entry is is for registration issued in early 2000? ''So the dealer's had the car for 2 years???? '

When you see this kind of paperwork deal at a dealership, it is common with dealers that "tote-the-note" and usually means the car was recently repo'd.(a repo of this kind usually will not show up anywhere on records)
This may not be the case, but it is very common under these circumstances.