AA7xxx alloys have been considered for applications in automotive manufacturing due to their high specific strength. Their limited formability at room temperature, however, is an important challenge in processing of these alloys through conventional room temperature forming processes. A practical solution to address the formability limitations is considered to be a combination of hot forming and quenching, using a cold die (i.e., die-quenching, DQ). Cost-effective aging processes, with the final stage being paint bake cycling (PBC), are also considered crucial to achieve high strength levels in the final product. The current research presents the hardening and multi-length scale microstructural characterization, as well as modeling investigations of precipitation hardening in a die-quenched AA7075 alloy during a three-step aging process. The results suggest that dislocations formed during the DQ process have profound effects on the microstructural evolution and the aging response of the alloy samples. The kinetics of precipitation hardening during the simulated PBC treatment is also highly affected by the dislocation-enhanced precipitation. The new knowledge provides a useful roadmap for future process design associated with the automotive applications of AA7075 and similar alloys.