There was a faulty wire causing the auto-bildge to not activate. I also filled the hull with water while the boat was leveled on a trailer at my home. Not really any leaks. I suspected that the live well was leaking into the hull, but it is compartmented off and is probably not the source of the water. The forward through hull is old and should be replaced, but there was negligible leakage when the hull was filled at home.
I do have the original height transom and water seems to splash though the steering/wiring boot in the splashwell and also under the lids to the battery boxes. Other than that I cannot explain how all that water hot in the bildge.
Is filling the hull while the boat is level on land an accurate way to test for leaks?
Also, the backup auto bildge and the highwater alarm sound like a good idea. This was a good wake up call.