"Spud" wrote in
news:3JkEb.744218$6C4.465247@pd7tw1no:

I'm on cable with a router and Windows XP

I believe I have my XP firewall configured properly, infact I have
tried to connect to the test station with it ON and OFF to no avail
( I do see my connect attempt displayed on the Echolink screen but
my connection fails).

The echolink help files show how to setup router port permissions on
the Dlink 604 but the Dlink 704 setup screens are very different and
don't seem to indicate weather or not I'm opening up the ports in
both directions or not.

Try to use the EchoLink Troubleshooter:
http://www.echolink.org/troubleshooter.htm

73, Markus
HB9BRJ / AE6MG