Check this, see if it helps:

https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/problems-sending-and-receiving-messages

if i set up my hotmail account on thunderbird before i add torbirdy then my emails work but if i add on torbirdy and then later set up my hotmail account it won't work. i tried to manually configure the SMTP server settings and nothing worked.

Assuming you have the correct SMTP settings, unstated in your post, try sending in safe mode (hold Option when you launch TB) and see if any of your add-ons are causing the problem.

My Hotmail smtp server is smtp-mail.outlook.com on port 587, with STARTTLS security, normal password authentication, and full email address for the User Name.

thanks so much after so many hours of trying so many different things you figured it right out for me. Another quick question. where could i find the correct server settings for another email provider i.e. safe-mail.net or gmail or something like this?

ahhh now i can't seem to find any messages in my inbox but i can see them in my sentbox.

The settings for safe-mail are here. Gmail and Hotmail settings should be entered automatically after you enter your details starting from File/New(or AppMenu/New Message)/Existing Mail Account.

i can send emails and view them as being sent in the sentbox but when emails are being sent to me they are not appearing in my inbox?

In order to check your settings, please select Help/Troubleshooting Information, click Copy Text to Clipboard, then paste (Ctrl-V) in a reply, and delete the printer and font details.

i figured it all out thanks for that