You're not missing anything. All this talk of hitting the ask has done nothing for the SP. It's manipulation.
Trade however you want. Try to buy as low as you can - that's the most prudent way. Put in a buy order lower than the bid and eventually you will probably get filled.
Hitting the ask drives the share price up. The more people are willing to pay the more the ask will move up. The more the ask moves up the higher the share price.