This might sound stupid but I have no idea how to get the last date modified of the current web page I'm viewing. I googled it and could find anything good. Would this still work if my last date modified is in a separate file, footer_e.cfm?

You'd have to use a combination of the FileExists() function to first see that the file in question exists - unless you are using cgi.script_name. then, use either cffile or cfdirectory to get the individual file properties. dump the variables out and you should be able to get the last modified date.