help with configuration Linksys Wireless WRT54G Router To 2Wire DSL Modem

hello guys I'm newbie to networking/routing i need help configuring my linksys wrt54g with a 2wire dsl modem, here my current setup --> im grabbing my friends wifi from few blocks down the street, on my side i have set up my antenna with a Ubiquiti bullet2 already setup with the 2wire AP with good signal strength, then i have plugged in the bullet2 directly into the LAN port of my wrt54g now this is where im stuck my laptops will be connected to the linksys via wireless, i have disabled automatic DHCP on the router so that that i get an ip address directly from the 2wire router this seemed to work just fine for while but every time i turn on my laptop i no longer had internet connection i had to manually request the 2wire to give my laptop an internet address every single time i wanted to connect even then it would take a really long time before the 2wire could see or recognize my computers and assign them an ip address. what could i be doing wrong if you guys know there's a way to fix this or an alternative way of setting this up your help would be greatly appreciated.