As far as your irrigation you may be watering too much or too little depending on the sprinkler heads you have. I have the Hunter MP heads and it takes about 50 minutes to get the recommended 1/2 inch of water. From the utube videos I've watched and from what I've read it recommended watering every 3 days in the summer with a 1/2 inch. I would start there and adjust as needed but do the tuna can test to see how long it takes to get the 1/2 inch.
I would also adjust your start time so when your schedule finishes it run about 7 or 8am. Letting water sit on your lawn too long without sunlight will leave the grass susceptible to fungus like grey leaf spot and others. That's why it's recommended to let your lawn dry out for a day or two. Also with this daily rain you may not need to use your irrigation system for weeks.
With St Augustine you do want to mow it as high as possible. Doing this will get you lawn thick and will help keep weeds at bay. This St Augustine is a totally different type from my old Kentucky blue grass up north so throw out everything you know about northern grass and start over again.
There's a utube channel called The Lawn Care Nut that I recommend. He lives outside of Tampa so he mostly shows St Augustine and Zoysia tips and is a great way to gain some info on this grass.
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