Now, somebody feel free to correct me if I'm wrong, but AFAIK from everybody "in the know" on these sort of the things, the aired premiere of "The New Price is Right" is in fact an airing of the pilot. I'm certainly willing to agree given the number of differences between it and the eventual series.
I would also put forth and say that the first aired program and subsequential '72 eps were taped far apart, but that's merely my memory taking a shot. Something tells me too, that to create excitement for the pilot, they wanted to truly award the prizes, which maybe led to its airing? (IIRC, contestants can't receive prizes unless the show is aired?)
-Jason