The coax was not necessarily bad.
It's not uncommon to have the foil bonded to the dielectric in cables designed for install. The bonding helps the foil remain uniform distance from the center conductor, helping to maintain characteristic impedance, and from moving [much] relative to the braid when the cable is disturbed, minimizing noise. Proper stripping procedure of the coax leaves the foil on the dielectric right up to the dielectric cut; the neck of the connector body goes over the foil. This way the center conductor has proper impedance and shielding right up to the pin.
As far as the braid not taking solder, also not unusual, though it is indicative of a lesser expensive construction using an aluminum alloy material for the braid. For these types of coaxial cable the only proper type of connector is crimp style. The coax cable spec sheet will indicate such.