modifying htaccess for localhost with a custom port

I have a live instance of wordpress which I'm attempting to spin up on my local machine using xampp. A brief summary of steps to where I'm currently at:

1. configured xampp to use a custom port (8012)
2. downloaded the latest files and database
3. added the entire public_html file to my new directory ('support') within xampp: C:\xampp\htdocs\support
4. Modified all instances of the live URL to my localhost URL localhost:8012/support in the database
5. Uploaded the database to phpmyadmin
6. updated the wp-config with the traditional username,pw and new localhost:8012 URL
7. made a few slight tweaks to the php.ini files and phpmyadmin config.default file so there isn't any limits

...and boom! stuck. when i attempt to load localhost:8012/support, I should be greeted with a login page. Instead, I'm getting a continual load and then timeout.

I've had this working before, and remember that I have to modify the .htaccess file but every attempt at updating this file in the rewrite module section, is resulting in the same outcome. I'm 99% certain this is the issue. This is what it's currently set to - any ideas?

RewriteEngine On
RewriteBase /support/
RewriteRule ^index\.php$ - [L] 
RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-f
RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-d 
RewriteRule .localhost:8012/support [L]
/IfModule

I've updated both the RewriteBase and RewriteRule with several different versions (including http:// and including index.php), but still breaks/doesn't load. I've no prior knowledge around this, so a little help as to what value should go here should go here would be appreciated.