Hi there,
I don't know what you have tried, and what not. So let's start from the beginning, or better from where we left off. You have removed the pulseaudio. The cute little icon disappeared with it (normal).
What you must do next is open a terminal window (xterm for example). In this terminal type the command
You will see a black window appearing, with all different options in a histogram type display. This is where you must verify that the important volume control are not muted (MM). Remember that you have no access to your pointer device anymore, to go from one option to the other, you must use the arrows. The essential options are "Master" and "PCM", for which if they have MM at the bottom, choose the option and press "m" on your keyboard.
If you have very few options, and you would like to see the different sound card options on your system, try pressing "F6". Choose the soundcard that is in your system.
I hope I am helping you in any way with this. Cheers