I just found this. I am also in Arizona on Cox and I have been having this issue for the past 3 weeks as well. It is basically impossible to raid now. I have pinged each point on my tracert path to 204.2.229.98 and the packet loss begins at ae-3.r01.lsanca20.us.bb.gin.ntt.net [129.250.2.233]

Ping statistics for 129.250.2.233:
Packets: Sent = 73, Received = 66, Lost = 7 (9% loss),
Approximate round trip times in milli-seconds:
Minimum = 33ms, Maximum = 55ms, Average = 37ms