Yeah I have the same issue, the bottom strip of the screen which shows your bullets is cut off. In a game like Carnival you really need to know that. The Atari version is the worst, Lots of missing scoring elements and no bonus stages. You have some great classic console skills and I see you've already met my brother Elrod. Glad to have you in the R.U. Arcade!
Sure. If you press Tab once the game is up and go to Categories, in there you can switch the left controller from Joystick to Booster Grip which gives you more buttons to configure allowing you to both thrust and shoot.