I duno man, think about your past how can you tell it was real time and not an inserted memory, and how did the mind come up with that memory in an instant that contains the events of an entire year. Ive had some dreams that lasted

lets just say a long time..., they felt like real time while they occured, now they are memories just like in this place I couldnt tell you the difference between the two.. well I can but only because the events are differnt.

Also, regarding REM whos to say that the eyes are connected and in sync or just trying to keep up, they are shut down prehaps because of the proximity and complexity of the connection to our eyes the muscles stay attached to the brain but just cannot keep up with the experiences within the mind.?

We dream every night, if you dont think you had one its probably because you just dont remember it, Im notorious for that.. well uhh not notorious, that would mean like everyone knew about it.. well a couple people do now MAUAHAHAA im notorious now... ok anyways
Yes you had one but you cant remember it. Work on keeping a journal of your dreams, like others have said you need to convince yourself that dreams are an important part of your life and that you need to remember them, eventually you will =)
like somone else says...

Im just saying =)