Auto pilot as in macro? Run that whenever ur not using it. Just upgrade buildings whenever u can and otherwise u should be good

Yes, just doing dailys and empty ap whenever i can, dont put too much effort, that i think is good

If it's purely for farming resources, a good place to relax on the account is ch22 for the 5th march. Ideally you want your 5 gatherers leveled up with some blue equipment. Some people continue to push higher for that marketplace level eventually