On mine there were two hot lines into the unit. One of them (the thick red line in a 2003 harness) is always on, that goes to the line marked B+ (or +12). The other line is the ACC line, this one goes on and off with the key. I had to run a separate line for ACC. If the unit loses 12V in it will lose its memory.

Guys - is it possible there is some sort of DEMO or seller's store function on the stereo that would cause it to reset each time I turn the car on... as I noticed my Bluetooth setup is saved but none of the visual settings on the stereo ...

Try to make a factory reset once and see if it saves your settings afterwards?

Check the manual?

There is a CMOS battery in most double din units that allow the persistent settings. Most China head units will sit in stock/use cheap batteries and by the time the consumer gets the part, the battery is dead. The battery is easily replaceable and normally lasts many years (if you get a name brand). I suggest taking the unit out and replacing the battery (it's normally a coin style battery, one of those CD2032)

Cheap Chinese unit = no real manual. I have data.