Sorry to see that, I put your build on my list of things to follow.
I've never ordered a sealed tube myself, but judging from a lot of these threads, yours is unfortunately not a rare situation. Do everything possible to get a replacement, or at least your money back. From your description it sure seems it started out broke and they tried to cover it up.
If in the end you still have that garbage tube, it's possible it still works, just try it. It'll be a yes/no thing, either it works or not. But I sure wouldn't trust it in a machine for normal use.
Laser.Tech