I appreciate all the input here and will work on some of the suggestions. While I would like to try one of the more directional antennas mentioned I do not have loads of money to throw at this and would like to try and get my current antenna to work. I am surprised no one had any comments about my original question regarding metalic shielding. I had read about this and was finally able to track down the link. If anybody cares to check it out let me know what you think.
http://www.digitalhome.ca/forum/showthread.php?t=103432