i edited the 'network' config file but it made no difference. i'm still stumped here.

these are the original values of the network config file.. not sure what all needs changing.. https://ibb.co/fHUEbQ

i went through this: https://wiki.openwrt.org/toh/raspberry_pi_foundation/raspberry_pi#how_to_connect_via_ethernet

it seemed to be relevant but still did not help.. my config file looks different and the changes outlined don't seem to directly apply..
i set the proto as dhcp from static as it said, and also made the IP 192.168.1.199 - it is making no difference, the device is still seen as offline by everything else on the network. i even manually added the MAC ID and IP to the DHCP of the router @ 192.168.1.1 and it identified the MAC ID as a Raspberry Pi but STILL NO connectivity! WTF

these are my router DHCP settings: https://ibb.co/hq5Fi5

edit: is there a command i can issue in openwrt to force the br-lan to be on? i'm still not sure if it's even on, i tried 'ifconfig eth0 up' and 'ifconfig br-lan up'..