I just got a domain transfered to Gandi, and when logged in as the technical contact I don't see a zone file management link. I do see the other two under 'Name Servers'—'Update' and 'Create a glue record.'

I want to set an A record on a subdomain, if I'm just a complete idiot I'd love whatever help you can get me.

Hi,

You don't use Gandi DNS servers :) You must contact your hosting provider for modify your DNS Zone.

If I would want to use Gandi DNS servers, DENIC would not accept a DNS server that does not yet serve that domain (DENIC Zonecheck failed). How to proceed in this case to use Gandi DNS servers?

Felix, in your particular case, I recommend senting an e-mail to Gandi's support team with the details of your situation. You will be taken care of right away.

As a reminder, our support team can be reached directly at: http://www.gandi.net/faq/form_contact_support/