Almost there...
I found out, after talking to my ISP, that the modem I had purchased with my cable/internet/phone package was actually for the phone itself. That was the main reason why my earlier attempts had failed. I had that modem downstairs and a router upstairs for my cpu. The rep told me that if I wanted to do any online gaming, I would have to get a 'cable' modem. I hunted down a Motorola SB5101 for a decent price and set up my connection. I haven't tried it out yet for xbox live, but will as soon as I get better in the games I intend to play on it (no sense in paying to get my as whooped). The only thing left is to get my cat6 cable to run from my Motorola modem upstairs to the 360 downstairs. When I officially get the gold membership, I'll tell you guys (the Live players) my gamertag. Now I have to get back to my "studies"!