Cant get port forwarding working, please help :(

Question

I bought an airport extreme yesterday, and since then ive been trying to get port forwarding to work. I've set it up before on other routers, and while its always been a hassle, this is the first time where I might just give up and take the router back. I've been searching the boards for solutions, and ive implemented several of them without success, and a call to apple's tech support got me nowhere. Im sure im just using the wrong number or setting somewhere, but I just cant seem to find it.
One suggestion i read was to set up the routers connection to my modem manually, instead of through dhcp. When I switched from dhcp to manual, i noticed all the prior numbers except dns servers stayed entered, so i wrote down the ones from when it was set for dhcp and typed them in. My manual setup is:
I.P.: 68.197.191.59
subnet: 255.255.224.0
router: 68.197.160.1
dns: 167.206.245.68
167.206.245.69
every other setting i left on the default.
the dhcp range is 10.0.1.2 - 200
One entry recommended a static ip. I originally set one up with the dhcp reservation feature, but then another post said your ip should be outside the dhcp range. Not sure if either method is better, but ive set my system with the following static ip:
i.p: 10.0.1.201
subnet: 255.255.254.0 (i was unsure what to enter here, so i chose the same as the routers)
gateway: 10.0.1.1
in port forwarding i made an entry with 60000 for the 4 public/private tcp/udp and an ip of 10.0.1.201 (i have tried many other port numbers in the odd chance that the one i picked at random might have already been in use)
I left every other setting on the defaults. The nat settings (a setting im not familier with) is current set for enabled with the default host box above it empty.
I should mention, my pc is wired to the router. I am using utorrents port checking site, as well as canyouseeme.org. Neither can ever see my port, one simply says not open, the other says connection refused.
I hope someone out there can help me with this, as the router is great with this one exception, and I'd rather not return it.

Answer 1

For starters, it's probably not a bad idea to "factory reset" your device since it sounds like you've had a lot of people giving you different advice. This isn't to say that you've been given *bad advice* but, it may make things easier for a trouble-shooter if you start over from a "known" state.
That said:
You need to setup manual port mapping. The problem is, when somebody from the outside tries to access your computer, the Aiport (for lack of a better analogy) isn't expecting any visitors; so it turns them away. ---That matches what you are seeing from canyouseeme.org etc...
Your error was when you "made an entry with 60000 for the 4 public/private tcp/udp and an ip of 10.0.1.201" Essentially all that will do is make a mapping for one port. Port "60,000" which to my knowledge, isn't used by anything.
You have to tell the Airport specifically what "outside" ports (each and every one) that you want routed to what "inside" ip address.
I use:
Public TCP: 22,80,443,27900,13405
Public UDP: 123,7777-7783, 13405,6881-6999
Private IP Address: 10.0.1.201
Private TCP: 22,80,443,27900,13405
Private UDP: 123,7777-7783, 13405,6881-6999
This enables: telnet, http, ssh, bittorrent and unreal tournament from the outside and routes ANY AND ALL TRAFFIC from those ports to my PC at 10.0.1.201 on the inside.
If I ran AIM, or ICQ or one of those things, then you need to add the ports that that system uses to the list also.