My two cents on the master cylinder. I'm not sure what the manufacturer suggests in your case, but I don't like the piston insert in this picture. Every manual brake master cylinder I have installed has to have a longer push rod and no insert. The reason is the pedal will return faster than the piston at times and the rod can slip out of the rod bore can get caught between the edge of the piston bore and piston and lock up the brakes completely. I would try the long pushrod and no piston insert. You should be able to adjust the rod to get the pedal where you want it.
BTW.... I saw the article in CC this past weekend. Congrats