Welp, it's official.

I'm an idiot.



Well, there's yer problem!

It turns out that, if the cable pops out of it's hole and into the slot, it can dive between the lever and the boss, making the mounting bolt feel tighter than it is. With no compression, the lever can't fight the FD return spring. The crazy thing is that this actually pulled enough cable to upshift the front derailleur.

Slack cable. Pull cable head through notch and into hole. Tighten mounting screw. Adjust cable tension as per previous thread. Shift bike. Ride bike. Use 8 of 10 gears. (Well, technically 7... I didn't hit the 52/14. But I could have.)

Interesting side effect: I think the back-pressure of the front cable on the trimming mechanism makes the rear shift better.

Thanks to all who offered advice, commiseration, and parts. Anybody got some stupidity-preventing brain lube?

--Shannon