Good catch with the pic in post #34. It clearly shows what is going on, and the problem is clearance.
Looks like the maker in their zeal to make the action "tight" made it a little too tight in the wrong spot. I should have started thinking in that direction when you told us the bolt from your old 98 wouldn't even go into the new action...
Now the question becomes what to do about it. Making changes to the follower so the round or follower itself doesn't interfere MIGHT cause feeding issues, so that seems a poor choice.
From the picture it appears the case is stuck between the round in the mag and the bottom of the upper "rail" of the action, and NOT stuck between the upper and lower edges of the bolt raceway of the action. Is this correct??
Seems like CAREFULLY removing some metal from the upper action should fix the problem...BUT that's something that once done is not easily undone...
IF it were a manufactured rifle you bought, I would send it back and have them fix it. Since it was a kit, this may not be possible. Before doing any (more?) metal work on the action, I'd contact the maker, and see what, if any warranty they have and what, if any work they will do.
Assuming, of course you trust them to do the work and get it right...
Good Luck with your project!