legitimate version Android 2.3 available for developers? I have seen a bunch of posts online saying that you can download some hack of android 2.3 on your phone..are these safe to use?

or better yet, is there a legitimate version that I can download and use from the android dev site?
There are many custom ROMs that are perfectly legitimate. They are built by dedicated people who put a lot of effort into the work. I wouldn't disparage them by calling their work "hacks".  CyanogenMod is the most popular, but there are plenty more.

There is not an installable phone image available for you to download from the Android Dev site.  Those are emulator images only.