do i have to use the stratum proxy? the less complicated the better. i did what you said and it still perpetually says "Connecting" in the summary...

also if i'm using coinotron, does the username i input into guiminer have to be:

username: neuromancer.1     password: coinotron account password

instead of

username: 1    password: 1

None of the mining clients I've tried (minerGUI, GUIminer, minerd, etc) have worked and I think it might be because I am still using the 11.11 amd drivers. I had a lot of problems with my 5850 and I'm nervous about changing the drivers from something that I know works. Why does it matter what drivers I use?

While I'm making a thread, can I just get a confirmation that I'm doing this right?

Using guiminer-scrypt:

1) I made an account on coinotron.

2) I installed the AMD SDK.

3) I added a miner on coinotron (username: 1, password: 1).

4) I added a port forward for 3333-3336 at 192.168.1.100

5) I ran guiminer and created a new cgminer with these settings:
-host: coinotron.com
-port: 3334
-username: 1
-password: 1
-device: amd athlon x4 640
-extraflags: none
-GPU Defaults: 5850
-Use stratum: yes

Thanks!