why is my connection refused when trying to add block lists

[rdwebdesign]

It means your container is failing to connect to the Internet.

You never posted you compose file, but try adding the dns: option, like suggested on this comment:

Gravity update "Connection refused" whenn pulling multiple lists from same domain

Try to add dns option to your compose file, like this: services: pihole: container_name: pihole image: pihole/pihole:latest dns: 8.8.8.8 ports: (...) Then test again.