more ftp problems...

[Michael Ryan]

When I issue the command: 
/etc/init.d/vsftp start the server starts up okay. 
When I substitute start with stop to shutdown the vsftpd service, which is the correct argument, , I receive a failed message. 
What could cause this? 
As well, when logged in as root, with the vsftpd service started, I type the following, 
ftp pressing enter, open localhost press enter, 
results: ftp prompt:  connection refused. 
I'm thinking that I can test my setup even though the box is a stand alone with no network connection similar to IIS.