In my router there is a range of IP addresses assigned to DHCP and that's from 192.168.1.2 to 192.168.1.99. If I manually assign an IP address to a device on the network, it is outside of that range, meaning 192.168.100 to 192.168.1.254 (do not use 255). I do this to keep a service like a printer or an FTP server at a fixed location because under DHCP if I restart the router, the assigned IP addresses could change.
Also, as a clarification, my Asante EN/SC ethernet box is connected to an Asante FriendlyNet 10baseT Hub. That in turn connects to a Linksys/Cisco 100/1000baseT switch which through a wireless extender connects to the Cable modem router in the living room. If you have a 10baseT hub, try plugging your cable into the uplink port instead of a regular port and see if you get a link light. This is a crossover port so the transmit and receive pairs are reversed. I believe your router ports should be auto-sensing so it will figure out the connection automatically to your hub.
I looked at what you entered for DNS servers in the Mac, the last octet of second DNS IP address should be 18, not 181. Your first DNS address is correct so that shouldn't cause you an issues but something I noticed.
Gerry