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G'Day Peter,
Unfortunately, with production mounts they are often pretty rough when it comes to the altitude scale and tripod bubble level. If you're lucky you may get one that's close enough, but it sounds like you're not.
If you are prepared to drift align, then you don't need to be accurate with the initial altitude and tripod levelling, but it helps to reduce drift aligning time. But if you just want to do a rough alignment, and 2 star align and straight into observing, then you are probably better off ignoring the altitude scale and use a good spirit level to level your tripod.
Be aware also of magnetic interference on your compass when setting up you scope. Your mount has steel in it, so it will affect your compass. I always walk about 3-5 metres away from my mount and shoot past it to check alignment. Watch out for other things that will affect your compass as well... cars, metal fences, power lines, steel frames buildings, steel sheds, etc.
Al.
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