What would be a proper lubricant for that area?
Anything that doesn't turn into a varnish after 3 months. A good quality oil will do just fine.
Mine gets dry fired a lot. I'd notice.
Yes, you would know immediately, but a lot of my clients were (to put it politely) not the brightest bulbs in the pack when it came to firearms. (This was back in Miami.)
My steel Undercover has a plastic grip frame.
To me, that's a definite improvement. According to the description by another poster, that would be a lot less prone to cracking or breaking if dropped than the aluminum. Either way, it's still an easy fix.
And, yes, the trigger is somewhat of a PITA to get back in, so don't feel bad.