Welcome to C&V! Quite the initiation you had there!
Glad you escaped serious injury. The eye doesn't look too bad. Just tell everyone a bike thief sucker punched you while robbing you of the Fuji. And you put him in the hospital.
The bike is in outstanding condition, very pretty. The new bars will be confidence inspiring and comfortable. Drop bars are not for everyone. My wife doesn't like them either.
As for the stem shifters, those are Suntour power ratchet shifters, some of the best from the past. Perhaps they are too tight and need to be adjusted. The Schwinn levers are longer...perhaps more easier to twist. You can try raising the Suntour's a bit higher above the top of the stem. Expose more lever, like the Schwinn's. If they are still uncomfortable, then a pair of friction shifting thumb shifters is best.

Be safe!