Of course, now that I've gotten some replies to this post, my phone is working fine! In fact, I just talked to Mom and we both heard each other just fine.
Anyway...
@drgeoff
I dialed that number and, since my phone is
now working, I heard myself as expected. Thanks!
@Mango
I had already been doing #1.
And, I read elsewhere about #3 and so checked it and it's fine.
As to #2, I can't find a "public" IP address listed anywhere in my Belkin. I checked the Wan Settings, but there's no IP showing. The only IP I see is the LAN IP address; that one does start with 192.168.
(Under WAN Settings, the Connection Type is PPPoE)
As to #4, I've tried many times to port forward but it never seems to work. After I enter the settings, I use an online service to check on the ports, and it always says that port ___ is closed.
I've used several different online services for this and they all come back saying the same thing. So it appears that port forwarding, in my case, is just a myth.
Here's one, for example: <
www.yougetsignal.com/tools/open-ports>
In any case, for now, since it ain't broke, I won't try and fix it.
Thanks to you both for your replies!