Two things blow me away about your post. You drove on the original tires for 11 years??? Your old tires probably had dry rot so bad that they weren't even compliant anymore, that probably contributed to the harder ride.

Second of all, there is absolutely no mention of tire pressure. What kind of pressure did you have in your old tires? What did the shop put them too?

If you want a more connected to the road feel, I'd work on the suspension. Some sport springs and performance shocks will do wonders. THAT will feel like driving a sportier car. In fact you might like it so much that you want to get a more performance wheel and tire package with more grippy tire.