Robert,
I had some trouble too and by no means an expert, but have some experience working with all of this. It sounds like your bridge is not configured correctly or the Stoker is not getting the IP address from the bridge, since you can connect to the Stoker when the bridge is not in the path. I had problems with my bridge setup, but here is what I did and finally worked for me, and it may help you:
--I take it that you know your wireless network configuration info (SSID, using WEP, WPA, WPA-2, etc., MAC authentication enabled, etc.) First step is to connect the wireless bridge to your laptop via an ethernet cable. Then make sure your wireless NIC on your laptop is turned off and see if you can connect to the wireless network thru the bridge. (want to make sure you are connecting to your wireless network via your bridge and not your internal wireless card) If you can then your bridge is configured correctly. If not, then the bridge config is probably not totally correct.....connect to the bridge via its IP address and input the same configuration settings as your wireless network which will enable the bridge to connect to the network.
--I had trouble trying to set the Stoker with a static IP, so I left the Stoker configured to get dynamic IP addresses.
--I did have trouble getting the Stoker to connect to the network, but it works every time now when I follow this procedure: with the Stoker and bridge both off, turn the bridge on first. My bridge has indicator lights when it finally acquires the wireless network. When these lights are lit, then connect the ethernet cable from the bridge to the Stoker and turn the Stoker on. The IP address the bridge has connected to the wireless network will then be transferred to the Stoker.
--Then I use my laptop, connect to the wireless router to see the devices on the wireless network. You should see an IP address for the bridge and a separate IP address for the Stoker. Note the IP address for the Stoker and then enter that into your web browser to access the web interface for the Stoker. (also enter it into StokerLog if you are using that)
--Every time I do this now, the IP address stays the same for the Stoker even though it is dynamic because I don't have any other additional or new wireless connections to my network. So I don't even check my router to see what the Stoker IP address is.....I just enter into my web browser and StokerLog. If you do have other wireless connections that come and go on your network, then the IP address may change from cook to cook, but you just check what it is and use that to access the Stoker or input into StokerLog.
This worked for me and I hope it may help some for you. The big thing it turned out for me was to let the bridge acquire wireless network access and get an IP address before connecting it to the Stoker, then turn the Stoker on.
Good luck,
Kg