Tap "tuning" ?!?

I've been tapping around on the top for a week or two since it was glued on and it just seems too stiff both physically and musically. I decided to begin carving the braces down to loosen it up... little by little. I also began to taper the top from the waist down about 3 inches from the edge to the edge. The original top thickness was about 0.120", now the edge is tapered down to between 0.105-0.110".
It is unclear to me which of these did the most good, but the sound and stiffness has definitely changed. Tapping around on the top without the back can be confusing because the sides dampen the sound. So I put it back in the mold WITH the waist spreader bars (that is the most important part. With the mold preventing the sides from vibrating, the tap tones are amazing. It sounds like a deep toned drum, even a moderate amount of sustain.
One other interesting trick is to notice the pitch of a normal tap, and then compare it to the pitch of a tap where you hit it and then leave your finger on the sound board to deaden the vibration. Before the pitches were the same, but now they are different. I forget where I read this, but this is a key to knowing the top is not too tight. Obviously there are a lot of subtleties with tapping; I am very much a beginner and learning every step of the way. But now that the top is starting to sound less "pingy" and more "bonggggy"... it is encouraging.