Ah ok this is all starting to make a little more sense.
I'm using GPA 0.9.7 (GnuPG 2.0.28)
My OS is xubuntu 15.10
I'm not sure the extension I exported I don't know how to check that
I definitely don't think I deleted it from the folder in that link you provided although I can't be sure because I'm not sure how to find the program folder in my OS. That person seems to be using windows and I don't know how GPA stores stuff on xubuntu. When I saved the file I deleted I got to choose where it went and everything so it wasn't something intrinsically stored in the program that contains my private key information correct?
If you exported it and entered your own filename it wouldn't have an extension listed, so don't mind that one for now.
Yeah, the link I provided was somebody using Windows - it was a presumption on my part that you were a Windows user, good to hear you're using Xubuntu!
I'm not using Xubuntu myself so I'm unsure where it saves keys by default, but the following thread should be able to help on that:
http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=1998331
From a quick read over things there, it seems GPA stores everything inside the .gnupg folder in your Home folder on Xubuntu. If that's the case and you deleted your keyring from that folder then your private key has indeed been deleted but you
may be able to recover it using a file recovery program if it has not yet been overwritten by other data.
The following link may help you recover the deleted file containing your private key:
http://ubuntumanual.org/posts/357/recov ... -in-ubuntu
When I saved the file I deleted I got to choose where it went and everything so it wasn't something intrinsically stored in the program that contains my private key information correct?
Your private key is stored on your keyring along with public keys, both yours and other people's public keys you import; however, when you backup your private key you can back it up to any location you wish, and the same goes for exporting a public key - you can save them anywhere.
(Please note the difference between 'backup' and 'export' when it comes to PGP - whereas normally we'd consider export to mean the same as backup, exporting does not backup your private key to another location, it simply exports the public key selected)
Your keys are not intrinsically stored in the program as such, they are simply referenced by the program when it needs to use them to encrypt / decrypt or sign (i.e. it is possible to move your keys independently to different PGP programs and locations without affected the PGP program itself). Technically speaking you could have them (your private key or your keyring) stored anywhere as long as you pointed the program to that location, but realistically for the vast majority of users it is best and easiest to store them in the .gnupg folder where the program will reference them from.
Again, I think what you've done is export your public key rather than backup your private key and then deleted your keyring, sending only the exported public key in an email. Unfortunately you will not be able to derive your private key from that.
If you can't recover the file you deleted initially then you'll have to create a new keypair (private key and public key).
If you have any questions on any of that (or anything else) don't hesitate to ask! That's what we're here for! And if you'd like to test sending and receiving some PGP messages I'll be happy to help.
Fremont