So I got the parts I ordered today. I am really happy with the Ergon grips, they give a lot of support to my palms, so while it remains to be seen how they hold up on longer rides, they look very promising so far.
I am not so confident in the new stem I ordered. I think maybe I cut my head off when all I needed was a shave. I can get the new stem higher which is good, but I feel the bars are too close to my knees now. Original stem is 140mm while the new one is 90mm and adjustable. I'm thinking maybe something in between the two would work better. The upright position is really comfortable, but I feel I have less control of the bike and the weight is shifted too much to the back. It looks kind of odd too.
I also found a new saddle earlier in the week. I went to a bike store and they sold me a Bontrager Sport with the stipulation that I can bring it back within 30 days and trade it for another seat if it doesn't work out. The sales guy suggested just starting with an inexpensive seat and then trade up if necessary. I thought that was pretty solid advice. The good news is that I put 50 miles on this saddle today and it actually feels pretty good. It is certainly a lot better than what I had and I can tell that this saddle is actually supporting my sit bones as opposed to my old saddle which i think was way to narrow for me. While I still feel it somewhat while riding, I do not have any discomfort as soon as I step off the bike and I had no issues with numbness so I am really happy with this for now.
I just figured I would do an update in case anyone cares and I'm hoping to get out for at least a short ride tomorrow to test out the handlebar position. I'm already thinking I will miss the more aggressive position. This in turn has me thinking that maybe I shouldn't try to turn this into a touring bike. I think it would make a very nice bike for daytrips on the trails which is essentially what im using it for now. Maybe some overnights if I pack light but that would be the extent of it I think.
So maybe I don't belong here in the touring forum, but rather in the recreational riding forum...