How to sync PF30X external flash with Nikon D1?

I'm a total noob when it comes to photography, but I recently received a Nikon D1 camera with a Sunpak PF30X external flash unit. I've tried finding info on how to work the flash (there's no manual in the box), but I've had no luck. When I lock the flash in place on the camera and turn them both on, the camera won't take a picture, and the only way it'll flash is if I press the "auto check" button on the piece itself. Any help with how I can get these to work would be fantastic, because I need it for tomorrow. Thanks in advance!

Added (1). Edit: When the flash is locked in place on the camera, it will take a picture, but the flash won't go off. Also, it's not the "auto check" button, but rather the "test/charge" button.

@fhotoace: I set it to manual exposure and set the shutter speed to 1/200, but still nothing. Do I need to format something or what?

To reinforce in your minds, I really don't know anything about cameras, so if you could dumb down your answers, that would be great:3

The Sunpack PF30X has a standard ISO hot shoe, so should work once you place it on the D1 hot shoe.

Make sure that the camera is set to manual exposure and that the shutter speed is set to less than 1/250th second

Eight years ago I used a nikon D1x which is slightly newer but very similar to your D1, and experienced the same problem with a Sunpak flash comparable to your PF30x.

A modern Sunpak flash for Nikon is made for Nikon's so-called i-TTL (intelligent Through-The-Lens) flash system which is was introduced around 2004, whereas older Nikon cameras such as the D1-series used a less advanced system, called the d-TTL (digital Through-The-Lens) system.
With the exception of Nikon's D2-series cameras which cater for both d-TTL and i-TTL, you can't use an i-TTL flash on a camera with an internal d-TTL flash system, or vice versa. Modern Metz brand flashes for i-TTL are slightly more forgiving in the sense that they will fire most of the time on a Nikon D1-series, but the results are very random. Believe you me, we tried al kinds of technical stuff, but unfortunately for you, d-TTl and i-TTL are incompatible.

Even if you could get this flash to fire, the result would be completely unpredictable since the camera's flash system can't communicate with the flashgun and therefore can't calculate the necessary amount of light for a correctly exposed shot. Theoretically, if a flash fires consistently, you could try to calculate the correct settings for each shot and adjust the camera's settings accordingly, but that won't work in the real world.

An older, second-hand Nikon d-TTL flash such as the SB28-dx, SB80-dx or SB50-dx, or any other d-TTL compatible brand would solve this.