Sucks that you are having so many pain in the *** issues, wouldn't surprise me if it's something simple. Keep at it bud, you'll figure it out, and unless you've been cranking it over steady for a couple hours, the cam should be alright. I've had similar issues in the past and never hooped a cam, at least not yet.
I was very careful i only cranked it four or five times before stopping but I did that 3 or 4 different times. I never just let it spin and spin and spin but it did get cranked over more times than I hoped for.