johnf3...did you also get the forks revalved? If so, you can't compare with stock valved forks.
I had a very similar situation (with similar forks and I weigh 195lbs). I dropped in .44 springs on my '01 KX250 and the front was harsh. After the MX-Tech revalve, they work very well.
I'm with Sage, if you want to keep the stock valving add some oil. I bet you can get them to work pretty well. Experiment with higher oil levels and and a little lower compression clicker settings.
------------------
Regards,
Ted
'01 KX250