The Shimano ring should work very well.
On Shimano rings the tooth count stampings should face out, to the right for the big ring, to the left for all other rings.
If you detach the cable from the FD does the front derailleur move all the way to the left?
If so, flip the smaller shift lever several times and pull the slack out of the cable before attaching to the FD. Be sure the cable is properly routed at the derailleur.
Check the cable routing, make sure the cable is not kinked or binding on anything, like the cable guide under the bottom bracket.
As you shift from a larger ring to the small ring the derailleur spring must pull the cable out of the shifter. Anything that adds excess friction along the cable can cause shifting problems.