Transition from standard to baritone dulcimer

I received a used folkcraft baritone today. Beautiful instrument from a seller on Reverb.com . I noticed a lot more difficulty fretting the strings while chording and playing melody. I took the saddle out and sanded off about 1.5 mm to lower the action, but it’s still requires a lot more energy than my standard McSpadden. Would lighter string gauges help? Any thoughts suggestions? Thanks!