Hm, I could probably figure out an autosave mechanic... I don't think AGS has one built in, but I could set aside a save game slot and save to it every so often, or at key points. I'm making this into a series, so I can export what I do for this and keep it as a template for future games in the series.
I'm glad you appreciate the work I put in! Honestly, the dialogue wasn't much of an issue, and neither were the small animations. The thing that took the most time (almost a whole week) was the background art, then having to go back and define the walkable areas and walk-behinds with pixel-perfect precision. That was annoying!
Thanks so much for your time and feedback!