I mostly hit the strings somewhere between the bridge and sound hole when playing acoustic guitar, mainly because I prefer the sound.

I also tend to rest my pinky on the scratch plate if flatpicking, but never when strumming chords.

I suspect trying to play directly over the sound hole might have been one of the main causes of your initial problem.

There's a lot to learn to play 'properly' when starting, and then you'll be able to have lots of fun finding interesting ways to bend, or even break, the 'rules' to get the results you're aiming for.