TEXT is an older datatype, is deprecated in SQL 2005 and will be removed in a future version. Many of the string functions (left, right, substring, replace, etc) don't work on Text, while the do on varchar(max)
Gail Shaw
Microsoft Certified Master: SQL Server, MVP, M.Sc (Comp Sci)
SQL In The Wild: Discussions on DB performance with occasional diversions into recoverability