The answer is, Cox tech support no longer provides support for port forwarding. Tier 1 probably doesn't know what it means, and the advanced support will refer you to CCC, 10$ a month for advanced support.
That to me is just crazy. I don't claim to be an expert in this field but I've been able to port forward for over a decade on several different devices without issue. I set it up initially, changed parameters when necessary if the port I needed changed, added and removed them at will. There's nothing I'm doing differently. There's a step that's been added that's making it necessary for the "advanced support" requirement for an additional cost. My bill is high enough already. I've had car payments less than what I'm paying.
