I think Wheatfield is right. I bet it's just a coincidence that your battery ran low and your lens failed at the same time. I had the aperture mechanism die on the Tamron lens you mention (another coincidence) and it produced the same problem. I had to return it, ended up taking a Sigma of the same focal length, which has been much more reliable.
If you can move the aperture lever manually, and you see the iris opening and closing normally when you do it, then you should clean the contacts on both the lens and the camera mount. Also carefully inspect for any damage to the contacts on either lens or body. If that doesn't help, you may be looking at a repair or replacement situation, depending on if it's still under warranty.
If you can't move the aperture lever manually, and your lens is still under warranty, you should contact Pentax about it. Don't try to force the lever, it could just do more damage. There won't be much you can do to fix it yourself. If it's not under warranty, it would likely be a lot cheaper to just pick up another one used. The 18-55 kit lens is often available for about $50-60, either in the forum marketplace here, or other places like Ebay.
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