I strongly recommend that you get into the habit of checking the Apache access and error logs. You should do this after every test and following all code and config changes: it's often the case that what looks OK from a visual inspection of the web page actually has one or more (not-so-obvious) underlying issues; for instance, perhaps you're accessing code, data, or other resources, from the wrong path.

And, of course, if the last message in the access log is about the server shutting down, that's a huge clue to the need to actually start the server. :-)

I provided some Apache-related help a couple of months ago: "Re: configuring mod_perl on Apache2.4 (conf & virtual host help)?". That was mainly related to virtual hosts and nothing to do with your issue; however, there may be a few things you'll find useful — for example, setting up *.bat scripts with similar functionality to the aliases I described may make your life easier.