someone suggested that i leave the modem off during startup, and what do you know, it worked! apparently, my system was trying to access the net through eth0 instead of ppp0, even when ppp0 was activated. man, i feel really stupid for not having tried that before.

i've also asked my isp about having my connection set up so that i won't have to use PPPoE software anymore, but the customer service rep didn't know anything about it (which sadly is normal for our isp's reps). the rep basically said that she'll forward the request to their tech staff, but from experience it'll be ages before they take any action (IF they do). what's even worse it that i don't really have any choice on isps, because it's the only dsl provider in our area.

anyway, sorry for all the trouble harry. and thanks a lot for taking the time to help me out.