Yes, 2.9.8 did go into connecting.... state every time. But would be for just a second or two then go into the Cannot download mode. Dont get me wrong, I was able to download a few files utilizing 2.9.8 but was a pain in butt to work with. I had to keep freakin messing with it. And with other files it did not seem to matter how much I 'messed with it' I have activated the Advanced Statistics option, but am not familiar with this "Push messages via TCP" Please keep in mind I have reinstalled 2.8.6
And thank you for taking the time to help me resolve problem with 2.9.8 - if we can tentatively work out a solution I would reinstall 2.9.8