It is always a good idea to make original equipment work first. This includes the carb. It should at least be close, and usually a bit lean. Then you can open the carb and see what is in there AFTER you've got it running and tested to see what the carb needs.
Doing this has definitely given you some experience, and I always enjoy working on the bike, so you I don't feel like you have wasted your time
What jet sizes were in the original carburetor? How well did it run? Was the needle shimmed? Simplest thing to do at this point is to rejet and re-install the OEM carb. The new carburetor won't give it more power if that was the goal. If you replaced the exhaust with a more high flow exhaust system, ported the head, then the new carb could make a difference. But if the bike is otherwise stock, the OEM carb will be fine.
Also, is the throttle cable routed in a path with least possible bends, no kinks through the instrument cluster and as straight as possible by the frame under the tank and no sharp bend getting to the carburetor? Kinks can prevent the cable from slipping smoothly, and the slide may not be dropping all the way down.