Here is my latest attempt. Still not working.
1. enabled mod rewrite with command
sudo a2enmod rewrite
2. allowed override in the apache2.conf by adding the following since my WP site is in my root www directory:
<Directory /var/www>
Options Followsymlinks
AllowOverride all
</Directory>
3. restarted apache
/etc/init.d/apache2 restart
4. enabled permlinks in WP
5. verified code in .htaccess
# BEGIN WordPress
<IfModule mod_rewrite.c>
RewriteEngine On
RewriteBase /
RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-f
RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-d
RewriteRule . /index.php [L]
</IfModule>
# END WordPress
6. Cleared firefox cache
Still not working. This was the best grouping of information I could put together as far as my understanding of this process goes. Any thoughts about what I am doing wrong?