Same here; I don't even have a config file at all and it's been working fine for weeks.  There are times when it shows it hasn't seen a block for an hour, 2 hours, etc., but I just leave it alone and it syncs right up when another block is found.  If you check the debug window block number against the block explorer, they are usually the same or only one off.  I haven't dropped below 12 connections even with no conf file.

Just consider the "catching up" icon as waiting for the next block to be found.  Once it does, mine always flips back to a green check mark.  If it's a difficult block, they just take longer to solve.