Addendum to the original post.

Pulled up the LW "connections" tab:
Host=,,,dyn.optonline.net
Status:outgoing
Messages(I/O):200/48
Bandwigth(I/O):0.006/0.000KB/s
Dropped(I/O):78%/0%
Protocol:Ultrapeer
Vendor/Version:LimeWire/4.8.1

I'm running LW 4.10.5 with XP SP2, firewall disabled and all I get is "connecting" up to my set limit of 12 and the rest are "Queued, Awaiting, Waiting or Need". Briefly I saw a flash that LW said in Status column during download - "looking for stable" or words to that effect. I want my LW back!! Tried all the other posted solutions - NADA!!!!!!