Hard to say exactly whats goin' on here, but it sounds to me that the wiring to the pots is incorrect or there is a bad connection or two which is deadening your volume........JMHO

Another thing for you to check is that if the pickups were installed in correct order. Check output on the pickups and compare with the specification. I thing those pickups go from weakest on the neck to hottest on the bridge.

I have a strat with the middle VN pickup in the neck position and Gibson classic 57 in the bridge. This strat is wired like a Tele with 3 way switching.

I used middle reverse wound/reverse polarity as the neck pickup because it gives me this weird beautiful tone when engaged together with the Gibson hum bucker but there is a drop in volume. So I have to compensate for that if I play in this position.

Hope that helps

I never use Fender's suggested height. I use what works for me. As for the pickups being too quiet, sound like your soldier points are cold. You should have it looked at. I've also heard some Noiseless pickups are bad right out of the box..... I guess they are delicate pickups...

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