I took another look at it tonight. It seems that the majority of the resistance is at the beginning and end of the lever cycle, when the breechblock first drops down, and again when it goes into battery.

I also noticed that there is no bluing wear on any of the sliding components, the action looks new.

Maybe it's just a tight fit gun, and I need to cycle the action a couple thousand times while watching TV.

Its just tight and will wear in time..but a good smith could smooth it up for you....