Throttle cable and kickdown cable pulling hard

Hard to describe in the title.

318/727 combo in a 1963 Valiant.

Holley street dominator intake
Holley vacuum sec 4150
Lokar throttle and kickdown cables

Kickdown is properly adjusted, (at the first sign of tension at idle, and about 1/8" from full open at full throttle)

No tight bends in either cable. No extreme angles from bracket to cable attaching points.

Here's the problem.

Throttle pedal seems to push hard. Not impossible, but harder than I think is comfortable. Pretty hard.

By eliminating variables, I discovered it's from the effort required to pull kickdown lever.

The trans is fresh, without fluid, not running yet.

Anybody else with a kickdown cable set up have this issue?

Any help or advice is appreciated.

Thanks. Eric