Im trying to float an swf to an absolute position of top left but when I preview it the swf has shrunk and there is a black bar above and below the swf.
You say you are floating the swf to the left so where is the float style in your css, float: left; ? You also should really look at the SWFObject: Javascript Flash Player detection and embed script SWFObject this is a great way to embed your swf's and combats the IE click to activate swf object issue.