Monitor not getting a signal from my MacBook - HELP!

I had a monitor set up and working on my MacBook, but the monitor was crap. I disconnected it, and then re-connected it a couple of days later while I waited for my new one to arrive and found that my computer was no longer seeing my monitor. Since it was going away, I wasn't concerned and just figured I'd wait until I got the new one.

NEW MONITOR AND COMPUTER SPECS:

Dell 2209WA - Ultrasharp

MacBook approx 2.5yrs old
Model Name: MacBook
Model Identifier: MacBook4,1
Processor Name: Intel Core 2 Duo
Processor Speed: 2.4 GHz
Number Of Processors: 1

Connecting the two with a mini-DVI to DVI cable (tried a mini-DVA to VGA and that didn 't work either - both the computer and the monitor didn't see each other)


PROBLEM DETAILS:
My computer thinks it is mirroring and/or spanning. In the display settings I can see both my laptop monitor and the new one and can even mess with the arrangement and turn on and off the mirroring.

My monitor however says ""there is no signal coming from your computer." and it tells me to touch keys or the mouse to wake up the mac.

I have the DVI input selected and I have tried toggling through the different input modes and still nothing.


ATTEMPTS AT FIXING:
I have restarted
Reset the PRAM at start up
unplugged and re-plugged in everything
put computer to sleep, woken back up
restarted with the monitor connected and WITHOUT it connected....

NOTHING is working.

I don't know what the problem can be and what I can do to fix it.... Any thoughts or fixes?

 

System Pref ---> Displays & "detect displays" do nothing. My computer recognizes the display is there, that's not the issue.

The issue is that the monitor doesn't think it is hooked up to anything.