I've been reading about some of the workarounds when one bricks a router but I'm not sure it is bricked. I just got my WL-500gPv2 router. Here's what happened. I hope somebody can help.

1. I started out trying to load tomato. I booted the router up into restore mode. The power LED was flashing and I TFTP'd the lastest Tomato Firmware 1.23 to the router. As soon as the file started, the power LED turned off (not flashing). I waited about 7-8 minutes and power-cycled the router
2. It came up with the power LED on but there was no connectivity and I couldn't ping 192.168.1.1 from my static 192.168.1.2 on my laptop.
3. Rebooted in Restore mode and I could ping the router again - but, again, no other connectivity (telnet, web, etc.) and I couldn't get out.
4. Tried to load Tomato again with the same results.
5. Got the Asus Firmware Restoration software and the latest Asus Firmware (1.9.7.7). Booted the router into restore mode and loaded the firmware with the Asus program. It said it was a success. I waited 15 minutes but no luck whatsoever.
6. Rebooted. Still could not access the router. Tried again with the same result.

So, I can ping the router (and apparently TFTP) when it is in Restore mode but I can't do anything when it boots to the normal mode. Is this a symptom of a bricked router? What should I do next?