iPhone 5 stopped working and iCloud backup didn't work :(

Traveling cross country by car. iPhone 5 went into 'Searching' mode in Montana and was stuck there. Went to a Verizon store and they tried doing a network reset (no help), a complete phone reset and set up (after backing up to icloud), also no help; and finally they put in a new sim card and tried a new phone set up. The phone would not "activate" and would not go beyond the "Could not activate iPhone" message. Verizon told me the phone itself was "bad" and needed to be replaced. Was this true? Was there a way to fix the iphone?

I did buy a certified pre-owned iPhone 5. It works fine but my photos and Notes did not come down from iCloud and they aren't there when I go to icloud.com. I think I'm screwed, but is there a way to find the missing photos and Notes? Would they be on the old sim card that was replaced?

Thanks for any help!