Lol, welcome to beekeeping.
A good thing you should keep in mind is that a few dead bees anywhere is normal. These things happen. About the foundation, it takes a while for a new hive to start building if A. Population is down, B. There are few stores for them to build more foundation, C. Queen doesn't need more room
I wouldn't worry about it. If there is brood, and there is food stores, just let them do their thing. You could feed them to increase the building of foundation, but thats your decision.
Jake