i didnt read far enough before i posted....

either someone lied to you and youre stock springs where heated up and shortened, or they were just really worn out.
the strut doesnt do anything for ride hight. you cant have a stock spring and an aftermarket strut and your ride hight be different.
what you thought was a good stock spring wasnt. it had nothing to do with your strut. also, i bet you bought used struts, and were scammed. they dont clunk unless they are bad. if you bought them new and they clunked then you installed them wrong, or you got a bad bunch, which happens considering how many of those struts are sold.
however you want to look at it, youre still comparing pineapples to babies....