Should I delay pitching and other chilling questions!

So it's hot here, really hot and really humid. I have a 25' pre-chiller stuck in a cooler with ice and going to a 20 plate chiller. With the wort flow down to barely a trickle I'm still only hitting like 89F. I don't have a pump to recirc. I just grav feed it to fermenter sitting in cooler with cool water or ice bottles (although when I use a bucket I don't even have that second part).

With AC on high it's like 76 degrees indoors, so bringing it down from 89F to 68F is like an overnight affair. I have heard you want to cool it fast as possible, but have questions...

1. Why do you need to cool it quickly? I have only found vague references to chill haze. I don't really care about clarity though.
2. I have read that 30min is what they mean for "fast", but does it have to be at pitching temp in 30 mins or is there another cut off.
3. If having it sit for 6 hours or even overnight is required to get it to 70F, should I pitch it warm or wait?

There's been numerous "no-chill" discussions. Reading some of those will probably ease some of your concerns.

1. I'm sure there's other reasons but to me I chill below 90F in order to stop the hop utilization.
2,3. For the past 6 years of brewing I've always chilled to 90F and then used a fridge/etc (now I have a reach-in cooler) to bring the wort down to temp overnight. I then pitch my yeast the next morning. I wouldn't pitch warm. I've made that mistake a couple of times when I was pressed for time. Depending on the yeast you could end up with a "hot" tasting brew (har har har)

Just make sure your sanitation is up to snuff.

Thanks for the feedback. I will for sure wait until I get it all the way down to ferm temp before pitching from now on.

So I'm reading John Palmer says that the same proteins that cause chill haze can cause long term stability problems. I don't really care about aesthetics, but I don't want my beer going bad fast. Does anyone have any insight on how quickly and to what temp you need your chilling to precipitate those proteins? Also, when they say "long term stability" are we talking just months or years? I have never have a beer last more than 8 months.