Electrical gremlins... no power to coil

[Travis Goodwin <tgoodwin@xxxx>]

I traced my non-start problem back to the coil. I pulled the coil wire and
looked for a spark to jump the gap. Nothing. I tried a new one just to be
sure but it was fruitless. Then I checked all the fuses. Everything's ok. 

When I go to start the car I am assuming I should have 12V across the coil,
which I do not at the moment. I checked voltage on the right side. The
voltage from the resistor is ok and I have continuity and ground to the
capacitor. The trouble seems to be on the left side. I've got nothing coming
from the White/Slate wire that leads to the ignition control behind the
driver's seat. 

What are the conditions required to get power to that side of the coil?
Maybe I'm misunderstanding something altogether. Can anyone shed some light
on this puzzler?