This problem is very interesting.
dǎ 打in Chinese have a lot of meaning.
for example:
playing basketball dǎ lán qiú 打 篮 球
hit sb. dǎ rén 打 人
call him dǎ diàn huà 打电话
ask the news dǎ tīng 打 听
So, dǎ is a word for action.
dǎ diàn huà 打电话means call someone or give sb. a call
gěi can be a verb or a preposition.
When gěi act as a preposition, it is equivalent to "to" in English.
When gěi act as a verb, it is equivalent to "give" in English.