So AVIN got back to me pretty quick. They don't seem motivated to give any kind of refund or rebate on the price change, nor did they mention any of the issues I have had but did enlighten me on the Android Oreo vs. Android Pie.
We are not sure if it is possible to update the Android 8.0 to 9.0 yet. If it is possible we will provide a guide and post it in our support page. We want to make sure the update process is easy enough that everyone can follow and complete.
All of the UI and features and function are identical between 8.0 and the 9.0 version.
So I did a little research and other than the settings menu in color, I really don't see any difference as they point out. The update has lots of features for the phone as a device, not so much on an Android Car head unit.
Android Oreo vs. Android Pie
Not sure if the upgrade to Android Pie is absolutely necessary but I do like having the latest available technology. We will see what they come back with.