Bummer. I've been running without front plates for right on 50 years with 10 different vehicles and never an issue. Course now I probably jinxed myself...
Maybe try a 235/70 up front. It's only .30" narrower and it's 1.4" taller so it fills out the wheel well better and will give you better ground clearance. It will fit well on an 8" wheel. You can see the 235/70 on my truck, post#3 and #18
I have their bed mat and am happy with it, Sounds like the tailgate mat is made of the same material, but you'll need to attach it of course. That means drilling and I didn't want to do that.
I replaced my temp and volt gauges with LMC units. Work and look great, $35 and $40 respectively. The temp gauge for yours is on backorder though.
What test method are you using?
My truck is a C10 but to give you an example. I installed a kit advertised as 4.5/6. The actual result at the rear was 7. The front was 5.5. I was perfectly happy with the rear. In front I ended up using a 5/8" aluminum spring spacer to put the drop where I wanted it. Turned out the aftermarket...