Faxing problem with Dell Photo 926 printer and Dell Inspiron 1501 XP laptop

I am trying to setup my Dell Photo 926 printer for faxing. I have a Dell Inspiron 1501 laptop with XP. I can get into the Dell Fax Solutions Software with no problem, but after I try to send the fax, the status indicator either just stays at "Preparing" or "Waiting to retry". We never hear the modem attempt to dial. It appears that the software is connecting to the correct modem. Wondering if it's a dialing rules issue, but can't seem to find a place to check what the dialing requirements are. If we are sending a fax to a local number that doesn't normally require an area code, I would assume we don't need to add it?? Our phone service is regular Verizon touchtone service. Any help would be appreciated.