Auto ping status messages appeared out of order: "Waiting for API post" immediately followed by "Sending auto ping..." because the countdown timer's updateAutoCountdownStatus() continued running during the ping cycle, overwriting in-flight status updates.

Changes

• Stop countdown timer when ping starts: Added stopAutoCountdown() call at entry to sendPing() in auto mode to prevent timer from overwriting status during ping operations
• Set initial status explicitly: Display "Sending auto ping..." immediately when auto ping begins, before GPS and message operations
• Normalize status message text: Changed "Waiting to post to API" to "Waiting for API post" for consistency

Flow

// Before: timer kept running, overwrote statuses mid-ping
updateAutoCountdownStatus() // runs every 1s, shows "Sending auto ping..." when remainingMs <= 0
  → conflicts with "Waiting for API post" during 7s API delay

// After: timer stopped during ping, restarts only after completion
sendPing(false)
  → stopAutoCountdown() // lines 476
  → "Sending auto ping..."
  → "Waiting for API post" (+100ms)
  → API call (+7000ms)
  → scheduleNextAutoPing() → startAutoCountdown() (+8000ms)
  → "Waiting for next auto ping (30s)"

The countdown now properly pauses during active ping operations and resumes only when scheduleNextAutoPing() is called after the full ping cycle completes.

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