Local Server Issues

[jshows1]

Hey guys. I just started messing around with a home based server. I followed the guide here:
http://www.eqemulator.org/forums/showthread.php?t=32980 and got the server up and running. There don't seem to be any issues on that end as I'm seeing two cmd windows up and running with no apparent errors.

I made sure to go into my router (after having found my local ip) and forwarded the appropriate ports (5998, 5999, 7000-7001, and 9000).

I then made sure to do a fresh Titanium install without patching.

Next I went into my eqhost.txt file and changed it to:
[LoginServer]
Host=localhost:5999

Finally, on the exe shortcut created by the Titanium install, I right clicked on the file and changed the end of the path to eqgame.exe" patchme.

Now when I start the exe file, I get to the login screen, put in my username and password (not sure if this even matters what it is on a local server?).

The game then attempts to log me in, but after about 10 seconds (since it's not longer then 10 seconds, I assume it's not a patch issue) it says "a connection to the server could not be reached..."

I know other people have had this issue, but after searching the forums, I've not had much luck. I would appreciate it if someone can steer me into the right areas to look for what is causing my login issues.



EDIT: I thought it might help if I post my eqemu_config.xml file contents:
<?xml version="1.0">
<server>
<world>
<!-- Set the shortname to ONE word. The longname is what shows up on server list -->
<shortname>Jermanfu</shortname>
<longname>Jermanfu's Server</longname>

<!-- DO NOT EDIT ANY LINES BETWEEN HERE AND THE DATABASE SECTION -->
<!-- <address>do.not.edit</address> -->
<!-- <localaddress>do.not.edit</localaddress> -->

<!-- Loginserver information. DO NOT EDIT -->
<loginserver>
<host>eqemulator.net</host>
<port>5998</port>
<account></account>
<password></password>
</loginserver>

<!-- Server status. Default is unlocked DO NOT EDIT RIGHT NOW -->
<!--<locked/>-->
<!-- <unlocked/> -->

<!-- Sets the ip/port for the tcp connections. DO NOT EDIT -->
<tcp ip="localhost" port="9000" telnet="disable"/>

<!-- Sets the shared key used by zone/launcher to connect to world -->
<key>somelongrandomstring12345</key>

<!-- Enable and set the port for the HTTP service. Defaults are shown -->
<http port="9080" enabled="false" mimefile="mime.types" />
</world>

<!-- Chatserver (channels) information. DO NOT EDIT -->
<chatserver>
<host>channels.eqemulator.net</host>
<port>7778</port>
</chatserver>

<!-- Mailserver (in-game mail) information. DO NOT EDIT -->
<mailserver>
<host>channels.eqemulator.net</host>
<port>7779</port>
</mailserver>

<zones>
<!-- The defaultstatus is what status the new toons will have on your server -->
<defaultstatus>0</defaultstatus>

<!-- Sets port range for world to use to auto configure zones DO NOT EDIT RIGHT NOW-->
<ports low="7000" high="7100"/>
</zones>

<!-- Set username to root and password is your MySQL password and db to peq -->
<database>
<host>localhost</host>
<port>3306</port>
<username>root</username>
<password>6harrier8z</password>
<db>peq</db>
</database>

<!-- Launcher Configuration DO NOT EDIT-->
<launcher>
<!-- <logprefix>logs/zone-</logprefix> -->
<!-- <logsuffix>.log</logsuffix> -->
<!-- <exe>zone.exe</exe> -->
<!-- <timers restart="10000" reterminate="10000"> -->
</launcher>

<!-- File locations. DO NOT EDIT -->
<files>
<!-- <spells>spells_us.txt</spells> -->
<!-- <opcodes>opcodes.conf</opcodes> -->
<!-- <logsettings>log.ini</logsettings> -->
<!-- <eqtime>eqtime.cfg</eqtime> -->
</files>
<!-- Directory locations. DO NOT EDIT -->
<directories>
<!-- <maps>Maps</maps> -->
<!-- <quests>quests</quests> -->
<!-- <plugins>plugins</plugins> -->
</directories>
</server>