Gnutella Forums - used to be able to connect, now cant

I have used Limewire for years -- no problems until today. It opens fine, it tells me it is connected and the connection is very strong, and there is no brick wall (my firewall is off). I have not installed new software or made any changes to the way I connect (see below)
when i search for something it seems like it is trying but no results ever come. I notice that in the "connections", the bandwidth is very low (0.002/0.004, etc)
here is my info:

1. OS version? xp2
2. What firewalls you have? none
3. How much ram? 512
4. Hard Disk space available? 20 MB+
5. Connection type? (eg: dialup, broadband, cable, etc.) broadband
6. Modem & router brand name & model numbers?
modem: not sure - it only says "home connect" - comcast installed it 5+years ago
router: netgear rangemax

7. Where are you trying to connect from (house, appartment complex, school, student accomodation, work, etc.)?
home
8. What version of LimeWire (LW) & Java do you have? (Go to LW's menu Help>About LW...) Will show both LW & Java version.
4.12.11
1.5.0_11
9. Who is your ISP provider (Internet Service Provider)? comcast
10. Do this simple test for us. Using your browser go here: http://www3.limewire.com:6346/ The page should say 'Your test worked!'. What happens when you go there?the test works fine
11. Are you sharing the connection with other computers or p2p sharing programs? If yes, please give details of set up. no
12. Is this a your 1st try at LW or is this a new problem with an experienced user. new problem, experienced user
13. Do you see a brick wall in front of the blue world icon at the bottom of LW's interface? no

many thanks