I have a wallet backup before it was online
what is private key? is it the password i used on wallet creation - if yes i do have
i expected to see balance = 1.806 in the wallet and a transaction there
Ok, that is what is there, if you check the link above.
This sounds like the bitcoins are "there" but that your installation of Armory isn't displaying them. (Always make sure you have at least one, if not several, backups of the wallet because without it you would lose the bitcoins).
As far as the password, there is a password to protect the wallet and then the wallet itself has private keys which allow you to spend the bitcoin. If you have the wallet, then it should have the private keys which Armory (or another wallet) will use to control your bitcoins.
I am no Armory expert, but it may be that Bitcoin Core (which Armory uses) is still synchronizing with the network and your coins will be displayed by Armory once Bitcoin Core fully synchronizes.