Vista: Wireless connections aren't remembered

I'm running Windows Vista 32-bit on an HP dv2000t (Intel Pro/Wireless 3945ABG).

When I first added my connection, it asked if I'd like to save it. Under properties I chose to have it connect automatically when in range, and to do so even if I'm not broadcasting. That worked fine. I'm not broadcasting my SSID by the way, and my connection is secure.

This also worked with my school's connection (unsecure, broadcasting SSID).

I ended up adding a third connection (a friend's, secure, non-broadcasting), and then a fourth (broacasting, secure). It was after I added the fourth that I realized things weren't going so smoothly.

I'll automatically connect to the school's internet, as well as the friend with the broadcasting SSID, but it won't even find mine or my other friend's (the third one). I have to manually choose "Unknown Name" (or whatever it is) as a network and manually enter in the WEP key (which I've saved in a text file) anytime I wanna reconnect to mine or the friend with the non-broadcasting SSID. Someone in my neighborhood has an unsecure, broadcasting connection and I decided to add theirs to my connections to see if it would automatically connect, and it does. In fact, it'll connect to that before it does to mine (which is stronger).

Also, the SSID is "linksys", and sometimes it'll say I'm connected to "linksys 3 (linksys)". And right now I'm connected to my non-broadcasting friend's connection and it says I'm connected to "SSID 2 (what I've named his connection in my settings)." I'm not understanding why there's a 2 or 3 next to these network names.

My main question is why aren't these networks connecting automatically? I have them setup to do so under properties. Second question is the whole 2 and 3 business.

Thank you for taking the time to read this.