Well a similar experience to what im describing was my initial experience with axle cones... When i removed the wheel and spun the axle by hand, it felt like they were binding.. But lbs confirmed that was normal, even though i expected the axle to spin butter smooth when turned by hand.. However, i did not notice improvement in actual riding or spinning of the wheel once i fine tuned the cones..

So im wondering whether its something similar with the headset? I have no reference headset to compare to so i have no idea whether this is working as designed..