Router inconsistency? DHCP
 

Just got a Netgear WG614 router, but am having trouble with the DHCP. It's a wireless router, but am testing it right now with direct cable connection. Also use a cable modem. Have the router using the MAC address for the computer. A direct connection to the cable modem works great, but when plugged into the router, I often get a "host not found" error and have to click on links twice to get them to work usually , and sometimes sublinks off main pages just won't load. I think this is a DHCP issue, but not sure.

Do I need to manually assign IP addresses for clients or something like that?