This clamatis was here when I moved in 5 years ago. Then it was bushy and had lots of flowers.
I have neglected it a bit...
I am starting to get a lot more into gardening and would love some guidance on how to revive this plant.
I trimmed just ALOT of dead off. But now what? should I use fertilizer. Should i trim it right down next year and start from scratch? Help me please!!
I'm zone 6a.

I don't really see problems with your plant. It is quite normal to look like that when it is waking up from sleep. If you want to do something put a handful of Osmocote now and some compost around the base. After flowering cut it in half and add a bit more fertilizer. It will flower for you later again. I don't know what kind of clematis you have but most likely something from large flowering group. This group flowers on a previous year growth. In general, it is better to prune it after flowering. If you do it before growth starts be careful when cutting the stems. They often look all dead. I usually start cutting each stem by small pieces until I see green center, which means a live stem. Good luck.