Android :: Do IM Apps Actually Stay Connected?

I'm upset, folks. After months of trying, I STILL cannot find a single instant messaging app for my HTC Eris (2.1) that will STAY CONNECTED.I primarily want to connect to MSN (Windows Live, whatever they call it now) as well as Yahoo and AIM, though if I could only get MSN to work I'd be satisfied. However all the apps I've tried (ALL OF THEM!) behave the same way. Each one will connect, and either not show me as online to the rest of the world (verified my by gf), show my friends as not being signed in (when they actually are), and randomly disconnect me and NEVER RECONNECT ME unless I manually bring up the app on the screen. It's as if the apps have no connection to the IM's servers, or reality itself.I have tried MSN Talk, Meebo, Ebuddy, Nimbuzz. Each one of these claims to automatically reconnect if there's a problem, but NONE of them ACTUALLY DO. No matter what, I drop off, I'm shown as "signed out" to the outside world, and the apps will only reconnect (or pretend to reconnect) when I manually bring the app to the screen.I would expect that any IM might disconnect if I went out of signal range and came back, however this happens even when the signal is strong and uninterrupted. And it NEVER reconnects if I leave the phone alone. ONLY if I manually bring the IM app up does it even go through the motions of a reconnect.I can try messaging people even when it looks like it's connected to the server(s), but over half the time, the messages don't make it, because it's not REALLY connected at all.Again, this is using ALL IM apps I've tried so far.I refuse to believe that Android has ZERO working IM apps available, so... is there one that actually works properly? Is there some setting or tweak that will "keep-alive" the connection? Is there a problem with my Eris? Or... are there really no working IM apps for Android?