Mid Project Stain Change?

We have a 15 month old, 320 square foot deck plus steps constructed of pressure treated southern yellow pine. We live in WV; the Eastern Panhandle area. Most of the deck gets morning sun then afternoon and evening shade. No mold or mildew issues thus far.

Wish I had come across this web site before starting this project.  I power washed and sanded the deck a few weeks ago in preparation for staining. We chose the Cabot Semi-Solid oil based stain in Cordovan Brown (mistake #1?). Had a painting contractor who has done multiple jobs for us over the last decade come out to do the actual staining.  This past weekend they completed the pickets, top railing, structural posts, and all the surfaces underneath; only areas remaining are the deck boards and steps. We are not happy at all with how it looks so far and we are trying to figure out what our options are at this point. The main issues appear to be overlap (assuming poor application?) in some areas and then mostly uneven color distribution - not sure if this is how the stain was absorbed into the wood, the quality of the stain, type/color of the stain, or if it is also an application issue. Generally speaking, it looks uneven and sloppy. Again, these guys have done a lot of good indoor and outdoor painting for us over the years to include another deck and fence; but those were not oil based stains. What options do we have at this point to fix this? Do we have to strip and brighten the areas already completed and start all over with something else? Can we put a coat of something else right on top of it and move on? If yes, do we have to stay with an oil based stain? Or, can we just put a solid (non-oil based?) stain over the area we have already completed and then do our deck boards with it as well? Or, finish the deck boards & steps with the remaining stain and then recoat everything with something (recommended by you…)?  Any options I am not thinking of? I think I even confused my self while typing all of that.., sorry.