I have ran the same wallet on several computers and had similar problems.
I exactly followed the instruction, but ended up failing at syncing.
I succeeded by copying the exact files from my other rig which was successfully syncing.
But above option is not available for many new BTCDers.
I suggest dev making installer which will set up syncing conf file.
The single biggest problem that cause online retailers to lose money is simple failures during check out.
I think we might lose many new BTCDers due to frustrations while syncing their wallets.
I know many people help newcomers setting up, but it would be nicer if there's a simpler way.