cannot contact server

delayed and slower flash
get error cannot contact server
things i have tried:

searching google, yahoo, (ask and bind out of despiration), the forum search function

clearing cache, cookies, and then out of desperation: EVERYTHING ELSE

pinging server IP ( i get a reply no prob )

i am an administrator on the computer i am trying this on

none of my firefox extensions or addons gave any different result when turned off

my flash player is updated, my java is updated
i double and triple checked, EVERYTHING is updated, yes, even firefox itself ( though it does that automatically )


*EDIT* I even tried other browsers, opera, safari, IE, none work

*EDIT2* i opened up port 8080 and i can now get to the screen telling me i am connecting, however no matter how long i wait i cannot get off that screen, it's a duelingnetwork purgatory that i cannot get past

p.s. i don't expect this to end up resolving my issue, as i have mentioned i have scoured yahoo, google, ( bind and ask in despiration ) and all possible keywords, as well as the forum search function, and never found a single post over the last two days that has told me what i need to do
though i probably will be left with 0 replies ( or a reply that dosen't help me ) and this post will end up being buried (only to be found at the top of a random person's google search, further frustrating them as well because they have the same problem)

but thanks if someone wants to put up with this ( though i am doubtfull at this point )