thanks mike! that got me back to having my SSID show up with signal bars ( full signal) , but now it keeps rejecting my password, even though im typing it in correctly. I've logged into my linksys control panel to double check everything and the passphrase is correct. WPA2 personal...
this was my initial problem...it kept rejecting the passphrase
EDIT:
windows is auto-detecting in the available networks that my wireless connection is WEP ( though my router is set to WPA2)
I cant find a way to adjust that setting ( on windows 7's end ) without making a connection manually. When I manually set it up, the full signal goes away, replaced by a red X. When I remove the connection (like you recommended) a full signal returns showing that my available network is WEP. At screen where i enter the password windows shows me that i may also press a button on the top of the router, however, when I do so, I get the same problem as when I try to make a manual connection ( the signal bar turns into a red X and says i have incorrect settings)