Sure you're not thinking of the clutch pedal return spring? I can't remember hooking up any external spring for the brake pedal. The brake pedal returns to the up position without any external spring that I can see. It just feels like it is compressing air instead of pushing thru brake fluid when the pedal is pushed down. It's spongy.
The brake pedal pushrod is adjusted as you described. The shoes were adjusted like the shop manual said.
I bled the master cylinder today thru the fluid outlet hole and the plugged hole on the bottom side (but not both at once), then I re-bled all the lines at the wheel cylinders. It helped a little but it still isn't right. I can get a little brake now if the pedal is pumped up a few times in succession.
