generally about 6-9, but I can bring it up to 10 if I slow down and think about it.

You have had a lucid dream, because as long as some part of you knows that it is a dream, it is lucid. It may not have been a "conscious" lucid dream, but that is not the question.

In order to get higher levels of awareness during lucid dreams regularly, you really need to get into the habit of slowing down and raising your awareness. The slowing down gives "you" a second to catch up to the fact that you are dreaming. Often I will be unconscious lucid dreaming and doing stuff, when I suddenly stop and am like "NOOO!!! I know I am dreaming, I need to slow down and think!" I then think about goals and the like, comparing what I was planning on doing versus how awesome the place is. If the place is extremely awesome, I just explore.

Also, to the DEILD plan, if I ever feel the dream fading, I just try to stabilize, and if it doesn't work I calm down and wait. If there is a FA or actual waking, I can do a RC (non-mobile) and then continue from there.