Originally Posted by
ktk90w
I agree that the order doesn't really matter, but something you said made me thing about this: The one rule I try to never break when putting a bike together is that I never tighten something part way. That is, if it looks like it could be tight, I make sure that it is put on with the right torque and ready to ride. Too often I get called away from my bike projects by something else, and I come back to it days later, having forgotten exactly what I've done. I don't ever want to hop on the bike and start riding, only to remember that I hadn't *quite* tightened the stem up all the way.
Others are probably not as absent-minded as me, but when the OP said that things were snug, but not tight, this is what I thought about.
This. Finish each job as you do it. You may have to come back and undo something later but so what. Fine adjustments come last but always snug up a bolt so it is ready to ride.