Ouch! re: microfocuser problem! You'll hear it when it's moving - even when it's at the end of its run it'll still make a noise (at a different pitch though) All it should take is press 'focus' to put it into focus mode then up+down to change..
Good luck getting it fixed - is it just the end of the cable that was stuffed from the slewing? If so just a matter of re-crimping a new connector on hopefully.
Back when I first got my LX200 it took me a few nights to get the star-align to work first time accurately. Give it a few months and you'll be placing the base right over the centre bolt with the first attempt (I'm still trying to master the night time centreing
)