Can tamam only be used as in:

"I will be back in ten minutes"

"Tamam"

or can be used when asking how someone is...

to say when some is asking how you are instead of Tesskuer ederim iyiym,

you could maybe say tesskuer ederim tamam

and the other thing:

What is difference between Tesskuer ederim, sagol, teskkurler and tesskuer ederiz?

Stupid question i know but always wanted to know...

This is copied from the old Manisa Turkish web-site and will help you for the second part of your question about Thank you.

Teþekkür ederiz means we thank you.

How to say - "Thanks.."

Here we point out the difference in usage of - teþekkür ederim - and the more sincere - sað olun

What are the services being rendered to us..?

Sað olun - be healthy, be strong - is used as - thank you.. - for a service which:

(1) WAS NOT NECESSARILY NEEDED TO BE PERFORMED..
or


(2) FOR WHICH SOMEONE HAS GONE OUT OF HIS WAY TO HELP YOU...

While teþekkür ederim - thank you.. - (Lit: a thanking perform I - [from Arabic]) - is used in normal circumstances and recieving presents.

Some Examples of Use

Senario (1)

The waiter puts a nice meal in front of you. Your - thankyou - is - teþekkür ederim - it is his job...

The waiter puts a bottle of wine in front of you. Your - thankyou - is - teþekkür ederim - it is his job...

Then:

The waiter uncorks the bottle of wine and pours it in your glass. Your - thankyou - is - sað olun - he need not have performed this service.

The recipient of your gratitude will often answer your - sað olun - with the rejoinder - siz de sað olun - health to you (too).. - (the Polite Version said to to stranger)

Other forms are - sen de sað ol - or quite short - siz de - or - sen de - you too..

Senario (2)

You ask someone the time. He looks at his watch and says - Half past three. Your answer is - sað olun - (You have caused him to perform a service to you)

Senario (3)

You drop your handkerchief - a stranger picks it up and hand it to you - Your answer is - sað olun - (He need not have done it)

The rule is - If in doubt then use - teþekkür ederim...

The answer to teþekkür ederim... Is - bir þey deðil - It‘s nothing - or - rica ederim - I request..! - [same as "bitte schön" in German]

Also used is - ne demek? - what does it mean?. This expression - ne demek? - sounds quite comical in English. But it actually means something like: - It doesn´t matter at all..

The answer - Rica ederim - is the politest one.

Other forms in daily use

The recipient of your gratitude will often answer your - sað olun - with the rejoinder - sana sað olun - health to you (too)..

Other Versions are:
sað ol - familiar
sað olunuz - public and plural

A simple - teþekkürler.. Also means a very informal - thanks.. And is used in shops and for small duties performed.

Here´s how it was explained to me a while back by Caliptrix - the different uses of "ok" - I hope it clarifies it a bit.

"In Turkish, the "OK" term, "tamam" or "olur" doesn´t have the same usages as in English. For example, if you want to say "everything is OK?", you cannot say "her þey tamam mý?". "her þey tamam mý?" means something different; tamam is here "completed/not a part but the whole thing". so if you say "her þey tamam mý?" that means "is everything completed? / whole?"

on the other hand "olur" is used for approving something; "olur mu?" "is it possible?", "will it happen?" for that reason, you cannot use "olur" for the other "OK" terms/meanings. "her þey olur mu?" MAY only mean "will everything happen?" but it doesn´t make sense itself, like this. It may only be used in a story or conversation" 

http://www.turkishclass.com/forumTitle_37662

So, to answer your question, it would be incorrect to use tamam to say how you are.

For the first part of your question,

"Tamam" cannot be the answer of "How are you?"

"I am OK." translates as "Ýyiyim" or better "Fena deðil"

tamam has several meanings in Turkish. Let me use the examples in official turkish dictionary.

1- it may mean "all"..

Paranýn tamamýný verdim. = I gave all the money.

2- it may mean "complete".

Bu kitap tamam deðildir. = This book is not complete.

3- it may mean "done"

Hesap tamam abi, ben ödedim. = I´ve paid the bill bro, it´s done.

4- it may mean "OK" or "yes".

Yarým ekmek döner alabilir miyim?  -Tamam

For the second part,

it is not written as saðol, but "sað ol" (Just checked tdk)

so you would write "sað olun".

Henry is right, but the difference between sað olun and teþekkür ederim is so insignificant that people oftenly use these phrases one after another. So don´t hesitate to use one instead of the other.

For instance:

-Here is your tea.

-Teþekkür ederim, sað olun.

Teþekkür ederiz= We thank you.

Sað ol vs Sað olun= The former is used when you adress familiar people, the latter is used when you address someone you don´t know or when you want to be rather polite. "sað olun" is also used when you adress several people at one time.

thanks.

sað olun (lol) everyone for your replies....think i am starting to get the concept now...interesting to know tamam had so many different meanings! Snother question what does Yarýim mean?

Did you mean ´yarým?   This can mean ´half´ (eg yarým kilo) or it can mean ´twelve thirty´ (half-past noon or half-past midnight)