Scott,
The solution to your problem may be simple. In my case, I found that the firewall was preventing the connection to TRX. If you have a firewall installed on your computer, I suggest that you disable it and then attempt to connect via the TRX software. If that works, re-enable the firewall and add a rule to your firewall to allow the connection to/from TRX software.
BTW, like many others, I made the leap from TRX to Taxwise just yesterday. I too enjoyed the cost savings, but the lack of reliability and the poor customer service forced me to go in another direction.
Best of luck!