mushroomturtle can you give us a total desciption of your set up:
1. OS version? (eg: Windows 98)
2. What firewalls you have?
3. ram?
4. HDD space available?
5. Connection type? (eg: dialup, broadband, cable, etc.)
6. Modem & router brand name & model numbers?
7. Where are you trying to connect from (home, school, work, etc.)?
8. What version of Limewire (LW) & Java do you have? (Go to LW's menu Help>About LW...)
9. Who is your isp provider?

The problem nowadays is once some isp's detect you're using p2p they filter it so you don't get the speeds as before. It's hard to know b/c they will never tell you. Why would they.

Did you try deleting your LW preferences folder whilst LW was closed; instructions: Fixes for Limewire