Is there any way to discontinue the automatic list feature. I can't....

+Menu > Pages > Preferences > Auto-Correction Preferences > uncheck "Automatically detect lists+

Well, that disables the feature which automatically starts numbering - it doesn't stop numbering in a list that you have.
To do that, press return twice.
If you sometimes want auto-numbering and other times don't, leave *Automatically detect lists* enabled, and just undo when it kicks in unwanted — pressing return generates two undo actions when starting to auto-number a list: undo once and it undoes the auto-numbering. Undo a second time, and it undoes your typing.