I could really use some expert opinions on this dilemma.
Back in the spring, I fell in love with this Japanese maple (dissectum, cultivar is 'Watnong') and put it on hold. At the time, it was just beginning to leaf out. We had a few late frosts, and unfortunately the new growth got frost damaged. (I think they must have shipped it from a warmer climate and put it out too early.) I've been monitoring it since then (at the nursery), and it did get a second flush of leaves, but some of the branch tips never recovered, especially on top. Some are still black-ish with no leaves, while others have started to turn white. I know the white ones are probably dead, but at least some of the black ones still have green under the bark (fingernail test).

What I loved about this tree to begin with was the overall shape, size, and symmetry. It's big (about 5 ft tall and wide) and I haven't seen many dissectums that have multiple levels of mature branching like this one. It's more appealing to me than the more common ones trained to have a long trunk with all the branches at the top. I also liked the delicate look and color of the foliage when it was first leafing out (sort of a pinky-orange in spring with upswept branch tips - see picture below). It was the only one of this cultivar that they had, but I researched it online and liked what I could see of the coloring from the pictures. I really like the idea of the red/green bicolor instead of the more common solid red or green.

The problem now is that because of the frost damage, the foliage is pretty sparse and some of the leaves have some frost burn. There are also some bare branches that never leafed out. The red new growth over green older growth is pretty, but it's somewhat irregular and the green is "muddier" than I had expected (as it fades from red). It looks much better than it did a month ago, but I'm still disappointed in how it looks now. I'm finding it hard to gauge whether my disappointment is because of the frost damage or if it's the cultivar itself. Unfortunately since it's an uncommon cultivar I haven't been able to find other specimens locally that I can look at to get a sense of how it would look without the damage. I also don't know how quickly it will recover from the damage in the future or if it will recover at all.

I'm at the point where I have to make a decision about whether to keep it or not. The garden center will give me store credit if I decide not to take delivery (in keeping with its size, it was quite expensive.) I still love the overall shape and like the red/green combination in theory. I'm just not in love with its current appearance. (Still, there are no other JMs at this nursery that I prefer to this one.)

Some questions to help me decide:
Will any of the branch tips that haven't leafed out this year recover next year?

The woman at the garden center said she'd recommend pruning the bare branches, but I did some online research that said not to prune damaged branches too soon because they may recover. If I keep it, should I prune them or wait to see what happens next year?

If the branches don't recover or if I prune them, will the overall shape of the tree be seriously compromised? How long will it take it to recover (that is, for not just the leaves, but the damaged branches, some of which are a foot in length, to grow back)?

If I do keep it, will I need to worry about frost damage in future (typical) years, or will the tree be better acclimated to the climate here (6a/5b) once it's planted?

Should I go ahead and keep it, even with the damage?

I tried to take some pictures to show the current condition, but I realize it may be difficult to see the details. Actually, I think it looks better in the pictures than in person (colors are brighter and bare branches are harder to see.)

Thanks in advance for your advice!

First picture is an overall view (it's the one in the middle). You can see the bare branch tips at the top and right side.