cmillar6,
I had this problem for a while until I recognized the pattern of when things did not work.
It turned out that my original main computer running Windows XP had always been left on. When I started experimenting with distributions, I sometimes booted that machine in something other than the original Windows install.
Whenever that machine was not running Windows, my network did not work.
A lot of studying brought the concept of a master browser and where it resides into the picture.
The fix was to go into the configuration file in PCLOS and set it up to become the master browser when needed.
Sorry, I don't remember which file that is.
So, if you sometimes have another machine on when it is working, that may be what is going on.