I have put them in the mash tun, and in the lauter tun. Originally I crushed them, but then when I forget I saw that they dissolved readily while the water was being heated. Now I just drop then in.
The solubility of sodium metabisulfite is listed as 54 grams/100 ml water (at 25*C, IIRC), so the little tablet should dissolve freely. If it does not, I suspect that the binders in the tablet are at fault, but I suspect the sodium metabisulfite would have made it's way out of that and into your wort in sufficient quantity to do it's job. In other words, you should be fine. Pills for human use are often made with binders that are less soluble or even insoluble, the latter leading to "ghost tablets" that appear to leave unaltered in feces. (Please leave them there, and don't take them back to your doctor or pharmacist!)
I bought my Camden tablets from my LHBS, and have had no such problems. If the experience is repeated, your supplier should know--everyone can have a bad day, or a bad batch, but they can't correct the problem if they don't know about it.