Can't log in - please help!

[Mossom]

I am having a lot of difficulty logging in to the server and I'm wondering if anyone can help. Occasionally I am able to log in and play so I know it's possible, but 90% of the time I run into one of these problems:


Game stalls at the "Logging into the server" box when I initially log in
I get the "Error - a timeout occurred" message when I try to log in
When I am able to get to the server list, I get the "An unknown error has occurred" message and cannot log in


Here is what I've done so far to try and remedy the problem:

Changed the eqhost file as per the FAQ. This results in a 100% "Error - a timeout occurred" message when I try to log in
Changed the EverQuest folder from Program Files to Documents
Ran in the EQ Emulator launcher, WinEQ, and the normal Launch Titanium button - all result in these errors
Turned Windows Firewall off to see if that was causing the issue. Still had the errors.
Did a fresh install and ran DUXA's All In One patcher. Still had the errors.


Please help!

For those wondering, I'm running Windows 8 on an Intel dual core i5-4210U Processor.

[Mossom]

Update - I am now able to get to the character select screen, but am now crashing after I clicked "Enter World". Here's the exact error message from the dbg log:

2015-08-17 00:10:39 Initializing character select UI.
2015-08-17 00:10:39 Resetting game UI.
2015-08-17 00:14:03 THE SERVER IS NOT RESPONDING.
2015-08-17 00:14:03
2015-08-17 00:14:03 end of DisplayScreen
2015-08-17 00:14:03
2015-08-17 00:14:05 TIMED OUT WAITING FOR ZONE ADDR
2015-08-17 00:14:06
2015-08-17 00:14:06 Networking: Connection Closed [0] with 0 pending bytes.

If I can figure out how to solve this, I should be all good. Any ideas?