I don't see what new shocks & springs have to do with steering stiffness. Although I do not yet have any experience with this; I will soon. Did you get new tires as well? I'm in the process of getting aftermarket low-profile tires/rims. The front rims are going to end up being 7" wide as compared to the OEM 6". If you also went to a wider tire, this larger 'tire footprint' in theory could make the steering a little stiffer, but probably not enough to be very noticeable. My concern for you is that maybe whoever did your work for some reason took your steering rack off and managed to put it back on upside down. I have read about that before on the DML. The only other thing that I can think of would be damaged tie-rod ends. By the way, have you ever greased your king pins? Walt Tampa, FL