So I finally got everything put together on the bike so got the cranks swapped, and the brakes are in and working fine with some tweaks.
What I will say about the build process is that I seriously miss having external routing bc setting this bike up was a PITA to say the least. My rear brake cable since it has full length housing had some friction but I think I worked the kinks out so it works much smoother now.I'm not sure if I measured my shift cables too long, however I set it up so that it doesn't contact the frame. The only cable that hits the frame is the rear brake so I'll put some tape on to protect it.
The brake calipers were a tight fit. I re-used my post mount Spyres and the rear caliper is super close to the frame near the mounting point. The front caliper was tricky due to the internal routing (this was the easiest internal routing to do btw lol). I had to use the Jagwire "EZ-Bend" housing that I took off the bars and they work just fine.
I really like the component choices that I made with this build. The Hover Flare riser bars allow me to have a better stack height for the front end, and I guess running 40mm of spacers helps too. If you're wondering why I'm running a flipped stem: it's the only direction I can run the stem, and I just really like the look considering what I wanted from this bike. I also ordered some flat mount TRP Hy/Rd's as I wanted to stick with mech. brake levers but I wanted some better braking and better mounting for the brakes.
If I could change anything about this bike it would be better chainstay crank clearance, and figuring out a way to squeeze out more tire clearance. That said having this set up with fast rolling 38mm 700c tires and going down to a 47mm 650b (The Gravelkings stretch out to 51-52mm) is a good versatile combination in my few short test rides. I would have preferred an alloy steerer tube but I'm hopeful nothing catastrophic will happen as long as I pay more attention to it.
Overall I am pretty satisfied with how this bike came out. My biggest concern was with sizing as I didn't know if the top tube would be too short compared to my Nashbar frame, however it fits me very well. I'd say this is a pretty good successor to my discontinued Nashbar CX frame, and I'm glad that this sort of budget option is available for others looking for a very capable adventure bike.