The left() function is typically a SQL function, and is not available in Query-of-Query syntax. You could rewrite your first query to be more specific:
<cfquery name="type" datasource="#dsn#">
select * from [dbo].[requestType]
where left(type,3) = 'rem'
</cfquery>
Otherwise, you could use the LIKE operator instead:
<cfquery name="find" dbtype="query">
select * from type
where type LIKE 'rem%'
</cfquery>
-Carl V.