I don't think the bull horn bars got you much. I would imagine with levers designed for straight bars that it could be dar right awkward to brake, not sure why it was hard to shift before.
The bike was a citibike. Upright position was the design. You could get a decent set of Italian drop bars for it with appropriate levers and should be able to get a decent position, it will guide you to a narrower seat too.

I would have looked for a straighter bar, but that is me. Cool bike, keep the discarded parts, any possible next owner might well want to return it to original.