Automation Window workflow causing audio delay after use?

[krmsound]

Hey all.

PTU 2019.6
Scarlett 2i2 1st gen
Intel i5 @3.5ghz
24gb ram
Nvidia GTX 980ti

So I just started to use the Automation Window in my workflow. I use to do everything in touch and would grab individual EQ parameters and make my moves one-by-one in real-time like a neanderthal, but now I've learned about the wonders of Latch mode, Preview, Punch-Preview, and Write to Selection. This is easily like 5x faster than the way I used to do it.

However, it seems like each time I use this method, it causes my timeline's audio to get delayed by a couple of frames, and the amount of delayed frames seems to stack until like 20-30 frames of delayed audio.

After a lot of troubleshooting and panicking, I am like 95% sure this is what is causing the issue. It's not the video being out of sync. It's not my video or session being in the wrong fps, it's not pull-up/pull-down. I've reinstalled PT and my audio driver, trashed preferences, restarted the computer, etc etc etc.. I am positive it has something, somehow, to do with this method of automation I have adopted (which is how I believe most people are doing it). Any ideas??? What gives?