Searching with no results all of a sudden generally points to an ISP problem. However I notice you're using iprimus. AFAIK no Australian isp's shape or block p2p use. They all do however, give limited monthly bandwidth & if you go over the monthly downld limit you get shaped. Perhaps you've been shaped without realising it.

Anyway, make a note of all your LW settings & try deleting your LW Preferences folder whilst LW is closed; instructions here: Point #2 & 3 in Fixes for Limewire (sample image included at bottom of page.) See if this makes any difference. Remember after deleting prefs folder you will need to reset all your options next time you open LW. Including the days to keep incomplete files.

Another option is ... using the Add/Remove control panel, remove all versions of Java. Reboot. Reinstall Java using the "Offline" java found here http://www.java.com/en/download/manual.jsp