Culligan shut off valve

My softener is only about 5 years old and seems to have stopped working right suddenly. I inspected the brine chamber and noticed the float was stuck at the top. Not sure if it is the culprit or not, but I broke it free and am now wondering where this bottom "stopper" is supposed to be on the rod.

Looks like this
Attachment 17973

The part I circle in red is in question. It is pushed all the way down to that plastic washer. Should it be slid up, and does it matter how far.

Note I already set the top stopper to the 10 inches recommended.

I am still trying to under stand why it is that if a Culligan stops working the first thing is the Brine float assembly.

The injector on the back spine of the main valve body under the three screws that hold down the metal plate could be plugged, the brine piston assembly screen could be plugged as well.

Does the unit go through the cycles like it should?
Does the main piston move through each step of the cleaning cycle?

I can hear it going through the cycles. I know nothing about the main piston.

For starters, I really want to know where that stop is supposed to be positioned still. Another photo someone else posted showed it slid up.

The piston in the float assembly sliding up or down is only to stop the water from coming in past a point and has nothing to do with the water going out of the brine tank as there is a ball at the bottom of that assembly that fits over a hole.
Water not getting removed from the brine tank is controlled on the valve body through either the injector or the brine piston assembly working together.

In other words raising that piece adds more water to the salt tank to dissolve more salt which increases your salt dose. Lowing it decreases the salt dose. When the water is sucked low enough, then the ball is sucked into a socket stopping air from being sucked into the resin tank.

That suction or the lack of it is controlled by the injector. It and its screen maybe dirty/blocked or the brine line fittings may be loose or the drain line could be kinked or blocked and all those things prevents the suction.

After making sure nothing is sticking and sliding that piece up a few inches, the water is finally soft again.