I2s DAC audio out but USB audio in

Question

I was wondering if anyone could help me.

I am trying to set up my Pi 3 to be an assistant (Google or Alexa, etc). I had it set up working fine with the USB mic and the 3.5mm audio out, but I wanted higher quality audio out so I got a Pi zero audio DAC.

I Ran the bash script, etc and no sound.

Long story short: if I unplug the USB mic and run the script again the DAC works.

Now I have searched online for hours and hours it seems that running the script stops the internal audio but as soon as I plug in the USB mic it cancels it and stops the DAC.

Is there a way I can set audio out through the DAC but still use the USB mic?

Please keep in mind that I am a mechanical engineer and I am taking a few tentative steps into the world of programming. Its harder than I thought it would be as I can program a PLC very well but this is a whole new level for me.

I plugged in the USB mic again and I still got sound from the DAC but the mic is not working. I don't know if I am right but has it got something to do with the .asoundrc file? It is called .asoundrc.backup at the moment; I don't know why but inside it is:

pcm.!default {
    type hw
    card 1
}

ctl.!default {
    type hw
    card 1
}