Hot diggity dang! Ruger has made it official, they are coming to my state! Bring it on down here fellers, heck, I'll help ya'll move yer stuff in, just get on down here quick-like.
Well, you paid your dues bro. You are granted full asylum and pardon, you will now be remanded into the custody of Tom, Drew, Robocop, Edgecrusher, DNP, Unforgiven, and anybody else who wants a shot at your bank account! *slams gavel*
Is now a bad time to mention that my Dad raised 7 children to adulthood on a single income, as a postal carrier?
ROFL
No I'm not kidding about that, but I can honestly sympathize. I don't use USPS for anything other than payment packages if I can help it, 'cause I've seen their shipping centers and local branches behind the scenes, and it isn't pretty.
I've tried the hydraulic buffer as well. It introduced malfunctions into a weapon that functions perfectly absent only the hydraulic buffer. I've held onto it only because I want to test it's function with a suppressor in the system. If you really want to try one I'd gladly ship it for trial.
No offense brother, but having bought your bolt and barrel from completely different places and manufacturers, the charges for shipping and matching them aren't really undue. Fulton has no way of guaranteeing fitment and headspace with everybody who lays claim to building off a specific pattern or specification. The way I see it, they are still offering to resolve your problem even though your headspace issue isn't necessarily of their making. As a business person it would only make sense to charge a fair and appropriate fee to match another manufacturer's bolt to your barrel. You need to speak with the manufacturer of your bolt, as it is likely the responsible component. FA has an excellent reputation for the quality of their product, and it is likely that their assumptions about your issues are correct.
Wishing you luck brother, it's never fun to iron out the wrinkles, but it always feels good to resolve it and fire those first rounds through a fully functioning weapon. Keep us posted on how things work out...