2002 Neon front end/CV joint

Hello:

My car is:
2002 Neon
95,000km
4 Door
5 Speed Manual
2.0L (or very close)

Up until this problem the car was working fine. No loud noises or steering problems.

I was accelerating from a stop and turning left. The front wheels spun on some ice then caught on pavement, but only a little, nothing extreme. After moving forward approx 6 feet the front wheels lost power, almost like it popped out of gear.

I depressed the clutch and and coasted to the side of the road. I put it into 1st gear and carefully let out the clutch. There was still no power to the front wheels. The tachometer worked like normal. The speedometer moved up a little, approx 10-20kmh.

I did hear a very very faint rattling/grinding noise from the direction of the front driver side tire when it was in gear and the clutch was out. With the clutch depressed the noise was not there.

With the clutch in I moved the gear shift through all the gears, including reverse, and there was no noise nor unusual feel. It was quite normal.

There was no liquids dripping beneath the engine, nor any parts hanging down. I had a friend look underneath and when I put the car into gear and let the clutch out the axle was spinning, but still no power to the front wheels.

I do not know everything about front wheel drive, but I am thinking it may have something to do with the CV joint/Hub. Since the axle turns it seems the transmission is working, but something is wrong where the axle transfers power to the wheel.

I am wondering if someone has ever heard of this happening. I am getting it looked at this week and I am afraid someone might say I need a new front end/transmission/axle/ect. Just to get some extra $$$

Thanks tons