Ok, so I just realized after downloading the full wallet, that I do in fact have the wallet. I thought this was just for running the node and that there was a regular offline wallet, so I can only assume now that my problem is with the port not being opened properly on my router.
This is VERY different than the typical crypto coins out there!
If anyone knows how to open the port on my router, would really appreciate it!
So there is no standard offline wallet in which we can store our coins then correct?
Yeah, there's a lot of confusion with next gen cryptocurrency clients. Something we have to work on over time.
There is no such thing as a "wallet file", so there cannot feasibly be any way of creating an offline wallet. The accounts require securing once you log in by publishing your public key to the blockchain (issuing a transaction), so having a purely offline wallet doesn't make sense due to this either, as your account would not be totally secured if you were to deposit funds into it. The password system actually hooks you directly into the blockchain, and gets your balance information from it.
This means that you only ever have to safely store your password. Your computer could go up in flames and you'd never lose access to your accounts while you still have it. You can access the client securely from any PC on any operating system - although obviously normal operational security applies - e.g., don't use a computer you don't trust not to be infected with viruses or keyloggers.
To open ports on your router, check out this site:
http://portforward.com/You don't need to forward the ports if you're not planning on running a hallmarked node though. And the wallet does have UPnP, so you shouldn't need to unless you're planning on opening up the service as a public API node at least.
EDIT: I think there has been some confusion, as you've been pointed to the port checker. You shouldn't NEED it, but if the wallet won't work without it then use portforward.com
Ask away with any questions you have, totally understood that it takes some learning to get used to using these Java based next gen cryptos.
Man, thank you so much for your kindness in responding with so much detail. Will check out the link you posted to see if I can figure this out. I am however trying to setup a "hallmarked node" in order to earn some coins so it is sounding like I do need to setup port forwarding. Not being real knowledgeable with networking stuff, I am not even sure what the difference is between opening a port, forwarding a port or port triggering. Actually never heard of port triggering until last night trying to set this up on my router:-)