'01 Front brake pad replacement, too thick?

[BladeVortex]

First post! I'd like to start by thanking just about everybody that posts frequently on this forum, I read about 20 different threads for each job that I try to do myself, and I believe you guys are the reason I can put on 15,000 miles each season and haven't had a single failure.

On to the important stuff!

Pads were worn, so I ordered these.
Noticed before buying them that they seemed awfully thick, even compared to other new pads.
With some extreme difficulty, and having to eventually buy a pad spreader to get the piston flush with the caliper surface, I got the new pads in, all greased up, and all mounted on the bike.
There is so much friction, even with the bleeder open, that I can barely move the bike.
Are pads that are too thick a thing? I would've figured that buying the pads for my exact bike that look exactly like the old ones would be foolproof.

I'm honestly concerned that I might have to sand down the new pads.

Fun side story:
I always figured that the pad in contact with the piston is the only one that "moves" and that the other pad just makes contact via bending the metal the tiniest bit on the caliper mounts, and that as you go through your pads, you need to adjust what I thought were adjustment bolts to bring that pad in closer, and when you replace the pads that you need to bring these all the way out.
I have since learned that the whole caliper slides on those circled bolts .
Thank goodness I didn't undo those bolts.