Hello Jeannie,

I am a beginner myself, so bear that in mind...
First, if there is liquid already in the pitchers when you get them, do not fill them up! The plant makes its own liquid, and you dilute its fluid if you fill them with water, making it much less viscous. This means any bugs that do get in the pitcher could get away. What kind of soil are you using? Stay away from regular gardening dirt; you want extremely porous soil like live sphagnum moss and peat.

Are these Sarracenia or Nepenthes?

Hanging basket are usually Nepenthes and these are tropical pitcher plants. So they do not go in to dormant. When they seem to "die back" that mean that they are dieing. Unless you live in zone 9 or above you can't grow them outside year-round. Another think is that I think that you are feeding it the wrong water. Nepenthes's water can be up to 150ppm or 160ppm no higher
But good luck with 2nd try