Dial-up connections can be flaky which hurts your chances to get connected to stable hosts.

Still, there are a couple of settings you can use to help your connection chances.

If you haven't already, set the OSX System Preferences->Sharing->Firewall to allow Gnutella/Limewire on port 6346 (the setting is not easy to find--you'll find it by clicking on the "New" button). You could just turn the firewall off too.

In the LimeWire prefs under "speed", check the "disable Ultrapeer."

You can also make your LW more desirable to other hosts. The longer LW runs, the better your chances of being recognized. If you share popular files, people will try to connect to you which increases chances you will be popular with Ultrapeers. Some people recommended sharing a minimum of 100 files, but you'll have to ask around for the current criteria used for star ratings.

Lastly, if your connection is flaky--talk to your ISP about the line quality you should expect. The best answer here is broadband: LimeWire is a very sophisticated internet connection tool which loves lots of bandwidth, ram, and processor power! You've certainly got 2 of the three!