This is your lucky day.
The first thing you have to understand about Track IR is that it is a gimmick and completely unnecessary to enjoy IL2 or fly it at the highest level.
As you have found it is an extra piece of hardware that has been marketed to you, it is a fashion trend, and it is one more thing that can go wrong.
Since IL2 came out I have been flying it with a Microsoft Precision 2 stick and a set of headphones with integral microphone as the only pieces of special hardware. With the hat-switch and base buttons on this specific stick it is easy to turn your virtual head to any view needed to fly "full-real" combat vs. anyone with track IR and while they are fumbling around with their adjustments and it's glitches you are blowing their wings off.
I have owned track IR in the past, tried it and gave mine away for the cost of shipping it. I know other very good pilots who swear by the hat switch also.
When you fly the IL2 flight simulator it certainly helps if you keep your head pointed at you computer monitor, which is the first thing that track IR tells you to do, turn your head away from the monitor so you can see what is happening on it, doesn't make sense does it?
Here are dozens of tracks of me flying on realistic settings with no track IR, seeing everything that is going on and zooming in and out with the views easily, good luck: