AOL might be part of the problem, have a look at these links.
::. Kitz - ISP Caps, FUPs and Throttling .::
Why is AOL Broadband prioritising non peer-to-peer traffic at peak times? - AOL Help
AOL killed your P2P yet? - Broadband Internet - Digital Spy Forums

Try changing ports. In LW tools > options > advanced > firewall config. Change LW's listening port to 65000 > apply > ok. Or you can try any port numbers in the range of 49152 - 65535.

Your router might have it's own firewall. What's the model of your Netgear (eg DG834G, WGR614 etc)?
Check the router's manual to see whether it has UPnP support. If it does, enable UPnP within the router (the manual should tell you how) & then in LW go tools > options > advanced > firewall config. Check the button to use UPnP > apply > ok.

If that doesn't help, let me know the router model & I can give you a link to instructions for port forwarding

Don't run without a firewall - you can leave the Win firewall on, just double check that LW's being allowed access. The link below has more info about configuring firewalls.
User Cant Connect - LimeWire

Definitely don't buy Pro again if you're having problems There's not much difference between Pro & basic anyway.