Quote: The fan clutch is sitting 7/8" - 1" away from the radiator and using a factory shroud.
That might be the problem. The fan should sit out enough from the edge of the shroud to pull cool through the radiator. Otherwise you're just blowing hot air around inside the shroud instead of pulling cool air through the radiator.
The blades of the fan shroud be 1/2 in the shroud, 1/2 out of the shroud
Optimum fan to shroud total clearance is 10% of the shroud's diameter. The total clearance is both sides of the fan. So... 20" fan shroud should have 2" of total clearance. And that will be 1" on both sides of the fan.
