After several tries I finally was able to log in with Ender's client. Now, the next day I try to login and am faced with the same issue I started with. Connection gets refused almost all the time with Ender's client even though I am able to log in with the vanilla client. Someone said Ender's client connection refused means the login server is down. Well, that can't be the issue if I can log in with the vanilla but not Enders. Has anyone figured out how to make Ender's client provide a more consistent login? Yes, I have both http and https in the java exception list. Yes I installed the latest Enders (updater.jar). This is really frustrating.
UPDATE: Well, I may have answered my own question. On a hunch, I ran the update.jar on Enders. Turns out there were several files that needed updating even though I just updated. So from now on I will run the update first before trying to use Enders client. I hope this helps others who might be having the same issue I was having.