Perry, I think the problem here is that you have limited knowledge about the setup. I think you are using VMware view composer. My suggestion to you first document all the servers and the IP Address along with the authentication details. Start with basic don't touch the existing pool, create a manual pool, try using templates instead of using Composer. Once you are able to create few VMs, then you will be able to do more complex tasks.
Now to answer your questions - See what write the Composer user id has in your environment? Logs are your best friend - look at events database you will get lot of information and error messages. See that you have sufficient Network IP Address (DHCP). Check to see if your Parent image has snapshots...
I think this is good start. Let us know about your progress. People here are very helpful I am sure you will be up and running in short amount of time. Check the documentation for some reading 
VMware View 5.2 Documentation Library