So it turns out the ethernet cable I was using was the problem, not sure if it's just incompatible or if it's broken, but simply replacing it fixed everything. Problem solved!
I've been following various how-to's to extend the range of my wifi by cascading a Verizon Actiontec MI424-WR router (primary) to a Netgear WNR2000 router (secondary). My goal is to have them both working under the same name and password so that the secondary is simply an extension of the primary's range. Here is how I have it set up right now:
The primary is defined as IP 192.168.1.1 (default), name EXAMPLE1, and password PASS (setting is WEP); the only change I made to it during the tutorials is adjusting it to channel 1 rather than auto. The secondary matches all of the above except I've changed the LAN IP to 192.168.1.254, the name to EXAMPLE2 (for the purpose of testing its connectivity), and the channel to 2. Also, I disabled the "Use Router as DHCP Server" setting. Finally, I've connected both via open LAN ports in their backs.
When all of this is done, the primary connection EXAMPLE1 works fine, but EXAMPLE2 connects with no internet access. I'm not sure what the problem here is. This is the tutorial I followed for the most part -- http://www.audioholics.com/home-thea...or-large-homes [under the "C) Router converted to WAP (a.k.a. Cascading routers)" heading]
Any help is appreciated!