Landline not receiving calls -- outgoing, DSL, Dialtone OK

It sounds like you have a ground somewhere that only is an issue when you get the high voltage ring signal. Question: is the issue the phone is not ringing or you really can't get incoming calls?

OK, so I disconnected all equipment and connected an old slimline push button phone to test. I get 1 "ting" of a ring then it quits. Not even a full ring. From a cell phone it says "dialing . . . . " for about 6 sec then quits, I hear nothing. From another landline I get one ring then static, then it hangs up.

What I don't understand is why are outgoing calls, dial tone and my DSL all fine? There are only 2 wires red/green. If a wire is broke, seems that nothing would be working ????

I tested it at the DEMARC (or NID) and it's OK, so I know it's in our wiring somewhere. Does the fact that ONLY incoming calls are affected tell you anything about where the problem may be?

Another forum, someone posted that I have a "ring ground". What does that mean?

It sounds like you are not getting enough current down the line to make the phone ring, but you are getting enough to maintain your service. If you pick up your landline when you are trying to call it, does it connect?

If you know how your house is wired, you could start disconnecting segments of wiring. Are all of your outlets wired directly from the DEMARC or are they in series? If the former, you could disconnect half of them and see if you get a signal. Eventually you should be able to identify the line that has the ground.

I don't think it connects. As stated, my slimline phone only "tings", not a full ring. From another landline you hear static then it hangs up. From a cell it never connects, "dialing..." for about 6 secs then quits.

I'm guessing you have a partial ground on your ring side and you can't get enough current to trip the relay to show you've picked up the line. Do you have another set of wires in the box? You could swap out the yellow and black for the red and green everywhere and see if that resolves the problem.