I built up the components list myself, so it's certainly possible I chose some stuff that doesn't work well together, or just doesn't work well together in combination with the specifics of my bike geometry. I do have a mixture of SRAM and Shimano, so maybe that has an impact.
Hope this isn't useless info, as I can't quite remember... But here it goes:
I put together my old bike with a mix of SRAM and Shimano. I remember there was an issue with the front derailleur. I had to get one that mounted higher on the frame and had a bigger "range of motion" (can't remember why...Sorry). I also, had to use a specific set of SRAM grip shifts for the shifting to work.