I'm not one to give up on tech stuff like this, even though I dont know as much as most on here, but I was having minor issues with this phone before this problem so I decided to call verizon to see what they'd say...
they're sending me a replacement that i will get wednesday. Hopefully it comes with the proper updates haha
i would like to root, debloat it, de-bing it, and turn it back to a ggogle phone like it should be, so I'll be looking for the correct best ways to do those things, and probably asking for help again.
I really appreciate the help and suggestions, I'm sure I'll be back on here in a couple days to get this other stuff done, hopefully without issues. Thanks again!