When you say water on top of one of the controllers, you are talking about the zone valves, correct? If so, you are probably losing a considerable amount of pressure from a leaking valve, and if the fly by nighter who installed has no clue of irrigation from his a**, when I wouldn't doubt it if the poor installation is causing the problem. Did he flush the lines of debris before installing the sprinkler heads? If your backyard zones work just fine with the same amount of heads, don't bother buying equipment to test your water pressure and measure GPM. I would be looking more towards the shotty installation for your problem. Call the BBB and report this so called "professional" if he refuses to come back and fix your problem.
Tony Posey
Ridge Run Landscapes