Does setting WAN DNS to OpenDNS interfere with Remote Desktop Connection?

In the "WAN IP Settings" page of my Actiontec GT784WNV DSL modem router, I have "Select the DNS Type" set to Static DNS Addresses 208.67.220.220 as Primary and 208.67.222.222 as Secondary.  The OpenDns Updaters on both my home computers are working - I am definitely linking to OpenDNS, which of course is good.

[NOTE: In the "LAN IP and DHCP Settings" page of the modem router, "Set the DNS values" is set EITHER to Dynamic OR to Static with DNS Server 1 set to 192.168.1.1, which is the IP of the modem router itself, and DNS Server 2 left blank.  The problem I explain below is the same either way.]

I have two Win XP Pro SP3 machines at home on a Workgroup home network.  If I want to control one PC with the other using MS Remote Desktop Connection (RDC), I cannot specify the Host (remote) PC by name - I must use its IP address, which today is 192.168.1.5.  If I try to connect with its name, RDC gives me an error message "This computer cannot connect to the remote computer. ..."  Also, if I open a cmd window and try to ping the remote computer by name, the ping goes outside the Workgroup home network and reaches out to one of OpenDNS's IP addresses to do the ping!  But if I ping by IP, it stays internal.

NOW, if I go back to the "WAN IP Settings" page of my modem router and set "Select the DNS Type" to Dynamic (no longer OpenDNS), then RDC works using the Host (remote) computer's name.  However, the OpenDNS Updaters then report errors and I am no longer doing DNS with OpenDNS, which of course is bad.

►There is no question that setting the modem router "WAN IP Settings" to Static for DNS with the OpenDNS IP numbers is preventing RDC from connecting inside my home workgroup using computer names.  RDC still works with internal IP numbers, but, as my home workgroup uses DHCP internally, this makes RDC harder to use.◄

► So, how can I have BOTH my modem router set to use OpenDNS for its outside DNS lookups AND my RDC work using computer names? ◄

☻ Hey - this is a toughy, yes? We'll be REAL IMPRESSED if there's an answer to this. ☺