1. I would be cautious about using jQuery 1.8.3. I see that the compatibility listed for jQuery Mobile 1.3beta1 has just been bumped-up to 1.9, but keep in mind that this is a beta test. So, 1.9 is a goal, not a guarantee. I'd stick with 1.8.2, which is the highest version that can be used with JQM 1.2, and was listed as the highest version to be used with 1.3beta when they started the beta test.
2. Why the unconventional load order? Try loading your scripts in the
<head> section as recommended in the documentation.
3. Issues and pull requests should be raised here:
https://github.com/jquery/jquery-mobile/issuesThis forum is not a good place to submit bug reports or suggest improvements. It's good, of course, to use this forum to let other users know about potential issues.