Topic: This might sound stupid but....

[Jayded]

OK besides the port forwarding being done, with a static IP address, what are the other basic settings i need on the router? DMZ off, all firewalls off, UPnP off. Is that it or am i missing something?

And my outside ip address is included in the sfc.ini file.

[Bonk]

Set the router to allow pings from the WAN. (also note it is your private LAN IP address that should be static, not the router's WAN IP address, depending on the type of IP address your ISP provides).

Also ensure your WAN IP address is not a private one, some ISPs (wireless) do not provide a real public IP address.

However as I suggested, it might be good to test connecting directly, without the router, to eliminate it as the issue. Before you do though, release the DHCP lease for the router on the WAN, so that you can get an IP address from your PC's ethernet adapter, similarly before putting the router back in, release the DHCP lease from the PC's ethernet adapter. ("ipconfig /release" - type "ipconfig /?" if in doubt of command syntax)

EDIT: you will also need to double check that your IP address as entered in the sfc.ini matches the public one you currently have if you connect direct.