Try uncommenting your bind address entry in my.cnf and setting it to the ip on your NIC (possibly your public IP, but may be a LAN IP if you are running behind a router from your home or something):
Code:
bind-address = x.x.x.x
(where x.x.x.x is your IP)
This allows mysql to listen on your external facing interface so connections can be allowed from there.
You then need to restart mysql for the changes to take effect.
If that works for you, then you can always lock stuff down later once you have basic connectivity work. It is always easier to work backwards from something that is working than it is to try to set tight security settings and make something work that isn't yet.