As a returning player on a new server, I'm intimately familiar with the OP's plight. However, I believe you are either exaggerating when you said you "made no gil what so ever" or you did not know what to do.

1. The tutorial NPC (http://wiki.ffxiclopedia.org/wiki/Tutorial_NPC) gives you 1000 gil for getting to lvl 10
2. The Field Manual offesr gil rewards every vanadiel day for completing the pages
3. Mobs drop stuff you can npc or stick on the AH
4. Crystals. Crystals still sell well on the AH

Although your purse might be tight, you do make gil. Getting level appropriate gear, however, is a little hard after 10 since no one seems to want to craft those any more.