Even after flashing the old router to DD-WRT, the internet issues continued.  I bought a new WRT54G2 router to replace the old WRT54G, and flashed it to DD-WRT to match the other one.  I now have two WRT54G2 wireless routers as my network (the other one is the access point).  However, the internet issues continue, and I can only conclude that it’s my internet provider.  Not much chance that will be easy to fix.  Their tech support will always hold the position that it’s not on their end.

I did enable the daily reboot of the router (under Administration->Keep Alive).  At least there’s some sort of refresh every morning before I get up.  There are less internet hiccups, so I think I’ve cleaned things up a bit.

On the plus side, after switching to the new router I have drastically increased the speed to my laptop.  In DD-WRT you can do a ‘Site Survey’ under Status->Wireless.  It shows you what channel all of the other networks in your area are on, and I discovered that some new networks had popped up in my neighborhood since I last looked, and they were all on channel 11.  Time to move!  I have no packets with errors, and my speed in both directions is greatly improved.  I’ll call that a success.