Yesterday I bought an Armalite M15 National Match with flat top upper. It was the last AR in stock and I had been looking for a week to try and find any AR. I forked over $1300 on the phone call and picked it up from the shop today. It wasn't the gun that I wanted, but I figured it would be best to get anything I could right now and fix it up the way I want to later.

Anyway, I am doubting whether or not this a National Match rifle. It has the 20" stainless steel barrel that is as thick as **** under the handguards, but the front sight has a standard square sight post, not the sights as described on Armalite's website. There is a removeable carrying handle with the standard sights as well. I am pretty sure I don't have the national match 2-stage trigger as well. The receiver says Armalite rifle 5.56 mm M15. No national match stamped anywhere on it. I also noted a discrepancy from where the front sling point is attached. On my rifle it is positioned right under the gas block, not between the sight and handguards like on the national match.

So what the **** did I get myself into? Did I just dump $1300 on something that is only worth half that? All I really wanted was an AR so I could turn it into something a little more similar to what I used in Afghanistan so I'm not really sweating it a whole lot. I'm just happy that I have something before this possible ban goes into effect.

Well, the good news is you did not dump $1300 for a rifle worth half that. Any Armalite is worth a grand in just about any market, and today with current events, even if it is not a NM you got an OK Price. I paid more than that for my NM match (M15A4-T) rifle over 15 years ago. The NM does not say anywhere on the rifle that it is a NM. It will say it on the box though IIRC.
I think you have the M15A4 rifle which looks like a standard AR-15 but it will have the bull barrel under the handguards and standard looking sights. But they may well be NM sights if they are of the fine adjustment, 1/4 MOA windage, 1/2 MOA elevation. There is no way to tell by looking so far as I know so read your manual.
Here is a link to the rifle I think you have and if you got it for $1300 you got it for over a grand under MSRP so you did quite well.
As to the trigger, do you know how a two-stage feels? You said you don't think it is, but if you know two stage triggers there is no think. It is or it isn't and if you are familiar with them there is no question. You should feel a light take up of about a pound or two, then a slight stop where a little more pressure fires the rifle. A single stage trigger may have some creep in it but there is not take up, stop, then more pressure fires. A SS trigger will be just a gradual increase in pressure until it fires. The two stage will have a noticeable stop unless you are hogging the trigger back, then one can miss the stop indicating you are at the second stage. Does your barrel have the free float sleeve under the forend?
Whether or not it is a NM I think you have the NM sights and trigger but even if you don't you did not get screwed at all.

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As of right now $1,300.00 isn't a bad price for any AR. Look at what they have been selling for on Gunbroker the last week. Plum Crazy lowers that had been selling for $120.00 sold for almost $400.00 yesterday, some of the stripped forged lowers have been selling for more than $500.00, its a sellers market right now. Take your gun out and see if you like it, if you don't you wont have any problem finding a buyer until things settle down again.

If it reads Armalite or Colt on the side, it's worth what you paid for it. I paid $1500 walkin' out for a Colt AR15-A2 "Sporter" carbine on August 14, 1995, and I still have that fine rifle. I never shoot it because it doesn't have the bump on the right side on the lower receiver that keeps the ejection door from snagging and getting bent against the top edge of the lower receiver. But it's mine, I'm keeping it and I'll never sell or surrender it to anyone. It has the heavy barrel under the handguards, something I like very much. It has never failed to fire or to eject with properly-reloaded ammo or any factory stuff. Still looks zero-time, too.

My advice is you keep your gun, do it up like you want it as time goes by and ultimately have exactly what you want a year from now. I do not see our Freedom rifles being taken from us. Too many of us-- both Tyranny-crat and Republican-- having too many votes to not have confiscation be a painful boomerang come 2014. That is, if there even is an election in 2014. Tyrants, you know, don't like the People voting-- unless the tyrant is the only candidate on the ballot...