Query: After setting up all those TCP/IP options, did you open a TCP/IP application like a web browser or FTP client? The Classic Mac OS TCP client didn't come configured out of the box to try to get an IP on startup until, if I'm remembering correctly, "pretty late on".
I've forgotten whether or not this is enabled by default in 8.1, so it might be worth doing.
You can change the TCP/IP control panel to advanced or administrator mode and then go if i remember correctly (my apologies, I'm not at a machine where I can look) go to preferences and tell it (I forgot what the text is, I'm sorry) to enable tcp/ip before anything asks for it specifically.
This will use a little bit of resources, probably, but depending on your configuration or your overall intent, won't matter.
Also, if I remember correctly, if you are using an IP-based AppleShare server (like hypotehtically vtools or whatever) you shouldn't have to have AppleTalk enabled. AppleTalk would need to be if you wanted to share files from an 8.1 machine (appleshare over ip wasn't added to the base/client OS until sometime in the 9 era, or with the ppc-only appleshare ip 5 or 6 server product) or use your 8.1 machine to connect to something running 8.6 (again I don't remember the exact cutoff for when IP file sharing was added, I don't know if it was 9.0/9.1/9.2)) or older's personal file sharing. (so, I guess it is needed for a lot of AFP scenarios, but, like, you can get away without if your using osx server, appleshare-ip, netatalk2, or you're not using appleshare at all, like if you're using ftp/hotline/web/whatever.)