I'm surprised to hear that Hornady recommends that the base of the die contact the shell-holder. In reading old reloading books, some older than me, it indicated that the base of a carbide die should never contact the shell-holder, the reason given being that carbide by nature is brittle. If the carbide strikes the shell-holder it could crack the resizing ring. Same thing if the die is dropped on a hard surface. I recall the manuals saying that there should be a space between the bottom of the die and the shell-holder that is approximately the width of a nickle coin. This has served me well over the years.

As has been said, contact Hornady and see if they will handle this as a warranty replacement/repair.

Good luck!

JPJ