If it doesn't have power on the outlets, there's a good chance it's not sending power to the load side. Open it up and test the screws on the side, usually any outgoing power would be the top screws (connections).
The neutral wire is the wire that returns the power in the circuit, usually the white wire. Black supplies power (hot), white returns it (neutral). Just be careful, because some people wire things incorrectly/differently, such as three way switches.
That's why I asked if you put your probe on the ground, if it shows power with the black probe on the ground, but not white..... Bad neutral.