We were going to haul out all of the gravel and try to prep the yard for sod. We have had many tells us, that there is NO need to remove the gravel since the entire region has considerable rock and gravel under the surface. (Sorry, just trying to give all the details, for an informed response). We have considerable tree canopies and would have to hire someone to do any thinning of the trees since they are so huge....

Anyway, we were told we could haul in quality top soil, but have yet to figure out the best way, if possible, to either sod or seed the back yard.... I do not mind paying for quality, IF it will grow and thrive... I am a Florida native and would love something close to St Augustine or Zoysia... But, know how much both LOVE the sunlight....

Can someone please HELP me?

Now with that said SA cannot grow in dense shade. No grass can do that. That is why the previous owner gave up and covered it in gravel. Saint Augustine will need at least 4 to 6 hours of direct sun light. Some varieties of SA can tolerate medium shade, Zoysia can tolerate light shade, and Bermuda cannot tolerate shade.

Is your gravel like pea gravel or is it just the white rubble you see used for fill? A picture of that gravel would really help. What you call gravel coming from FLA might be what we call soil. Even "quality topsoil" is suspect here.

Is the gravel up close to the north side of a building or fence? Why is the shade so dense there?

At my house in George West I have St Aug growing under mature live oak trees on the west side of my house. That grass doesn't get any sun until late afternoon and it looks great.

What I suspect is the outgoing owners did not water properly in the back and lost the grass to disease. They probably brought in new grass before eradicating the disease and lost that in less than 2 weeks. Then they gave up. Another possibility is the area where the gravel is happens to be where rainfall runs off the roof. Something about roof runoff and St Augustine do not mix.