Adding a couple of notes here.

If a bike's saddle is too low, the rider will find themself sliding rearward on the saddle, perhaps even past the rear edge, in search of leg extension.
This then forces the rider to reach further forward to the bars.

I also often see riders using too much saddle setback, and so then needing a shorter stem to restore a comfortable reach to the bars.

So a bit of raising and moving forward of the saddle corrects at least a couple of the problems that I see.

"...I also slid my seat slightly forward. I put my seat to the max line...."

Glad to see that some of my favorite "fixes" seem to have paid off!
But don't let the MAX line affect where your final bike setup ends up, just get a longer post. I'm also a lightweight, and since a forward saddle position further reduces bending force of the post I can certainly bring the line out of the lug a good bit while experimenting with fit.

The foward positioning of the saddle also eases the effort of the rider's getting out of (and back into) the saddle, which can improve the preservation of valuable momentum during such position changes, and also spares the rider's tired knees.