I think the tabs may look like they protrude more because of some of the heating/reshaping I had to to do the snout to get it to fit (per Mr Tantrum's installation instructions) ... since the snout 'widened' slightly in the front, I think that pulled that area back from the tabs a little. In other words, the tabs didn't change (unless I somehow inadvertantly bent them). As such, before I start manipulating/bending things, I'm going to look at that armature pin hole first -- the slop in that pin joint makes sense as a probable cause ... because when he does pick it up, the lower jaw does appear to open fully as he bends down. The lower jaw looks like it doesn't fully open on his way down, on the cycles when he doesn't pick it up. The intermittent/inconsistent nature of it could indict the slop too.
The only contradiction to the pin slop as a probable cause is, why it never had any problems before I messed with it. Perhaps there was already something jammed in the hole and I knocked it loose.
More to follow when I get a chance to troubleshoot it. I've been wrapped up in other projects lately -- getting stuff put together for Chicago Pinball Expo, Free Play Florida, my new website & Pinside shop, etc. Oh, and my day job and family too. lol