Dynamic mics require a lot more gain anway, so if you feel like you are not getting enough gain to begin with switching to a dynamic is definitely not going to solve it for you.
It's really hard to tell from reading your posts what the problem is. It still could be a number of factors besides a faulty Firepod. However, it seems like your confidence in the FirePod is shaken, so you should probably call or visit the dealer where you bought it and explain that you didn't have much of any chance until now to use it, but it doesn't seem to be working right and blah blah blah. Maybe they will exchange it, or you could return it and get another FirePod or FireStudio instead. Or perhaps send it to Presonus and have them go over it. Their customer service is good, I had to send them my Central Station and they were very nice to deal with.
Anyway, at that point, once you've gotten another FirePod or had this one looked at, if you are still having the problem you'll it is working correctly and you've eliminated that as the cause.