Well it seems obvious that there is a problem with the driver, since other laptops work fine on the routers we have trouble with. But if my problem is the same as everyone elses, then it can be solved on the router end somehow.
I do not know what exactly has allowed mine to work with my Buffalo router, or why it didn't work before. I've tried changing all my settings (security mode, wifi mode, bandwidth) to see where it breaks, but I haven't had any luck so far.
If anyone has any ideas, I will try to remain available to help if I can.