did you mix the older, pre 2008, parts with post 2009 parts?
Although I haven't really heard of any problems mixing them.

cable binding somewhere?
FD not positioned correctly?
Have you gone over and double checked the build job?

I don't know the answer to your original question, but if campy is anything like shimano, it only gets lighter. The shifting quality doesn't have a noticeable change between different levels.