OK Roy, Like you, many of us have had this tale of woe..
Open Tops don't seem to work well right out of the box.
I agree with major231... that revolver that dont revolve has a weak or broken hand spring. It may look OK but it is likely to be broken.
Piercing primers? Yep. VIT will sell you new firing pins. You can try to file donw the one on the gun, but if they are the pointy needle like type, you may end up replacing the pins. The new pins are not hardened. They have to be filed to the right size, then hardened.
Good luck with your repairs.