One thing I noticed in the pic, is your bars seem tilted up at quite a high angle. You may have had to do that on the riv to shorten the reach, but maybe its making your positioning on the brifters sub-optimal. If the reach is correct, you should be able to angle the bars so the drops are either parallel to the ground, or pointed only slightly up. If you feel good with how your hands are contacting the brifters, then maybe you just need time to get used to the new shifting.

But overall from your description, it sounds like the fit is great, just that perhaps the fit of the riv wasn't as bad as you thought. Being one with the bike, and balanced over your bike is key, so its great that all feels right!