You didn't have the pressure plate resurfaced, did you? That would actually cause the reverse of what you're saying is happening that the clutch doesn't release. Resurfacing the pressure plate would reduce the pressure on the disk by a bit, the same thing as stacking washers under the pressure plate mount bolts. It would actually cause it to release sooner, everything else being the same. I think you need to go thru the linkage to be sure it's correctly installed and adjusted. How much pedal movement do you have before it starts getting firm? It should only be about an inch. It could be less than that as long as there's no pressure against the throwout bearing with the pedal released.
