If level senor loses connectivity, does it default to OFF?

[Raul-7]

Yes, however I would prefer to have ATO run as needed and not wait for a specific time

But that introduces more chance for failure. You can have multiple event starts for ATO 12, 3, 6, 9, etc. Then you can limit ATO max-time to 1 minute or 2 minutes.

For AWC you can have it longer like 15 minutes.