Wow, that's not the experience I have had at all.
I got a 2100 when they first came out, I'm sure at least a decade ago, and got the bigger cupped one as an option or was part of the upgraded kit with the better rain collector. Been long enough ago that I've forgotten the details.
The thing has been on a tower for all that time, up in the breeze, and still chugs along like a champ.
Never a problem with the wind head, but like a whole bunch of other electronic stuff from TVs to stereos and phones, when we took a nearby (150') strike on the side of the hill, the box went sour. I liked it so much that I had ordered a new replacement one, and it feeds one of the data logging computers and a Weather Picture that is a super piece of display hardware.
Hope you have talked with the kind lady in support down in Florida to see if they have any insight as to what the problem might be. Despite all the sun and wind and rain and even hail, my wind head is still OK.
The wind direction is a bit different, no a whole lot different, from most wind monitor heads. There is no potentiometer to give a voltage or resistance. The magnet that spins giving wind speed is also refernced and timed somehow to give a time/angle difference which is converted into a direction, if I recall correctly. Therefore I really doubt you'll find a different style that will just replace directly. But I could be wrong.
Did you get the little cup one or the big cup/pro version this last replacement?
Dale