Converted to drop bar and dual brake/shift levers and problems with front derailleur

Hoping someone can help out here.

I had originally had a 2016 Kona Deluxe hybrid. Over the years I changed to bullhorn bars with the original shifters etc. I love this bike, but I wanted drop bars and brake shift levers now.

Yes I know I should just buy a road bike, but I like this bike and would rather spend the time doing this as I enjoy it.

The bike still has the original front and rear derailleur which was Shimano Acera 3x front and Shimano Alivio 9 speed rear.

I purchased the Shimano Sora dual levers, right 9 speed and left 3 speed.

I installed everything, installed the new cabling and have successfully got everything to work, including the rear derailleur.

However, I am having problems with the front derailleur. It almost seems as if the cable pull is not enough to make it shift. I can get it to shift from the 1st ring to the 2nd. or the 2nd to the 3rd. I even installed a inline cable adjuster to get fine tuning and nothing seems to work.

Question: Is there a different derailleur I need/new crankset or is there something I need to do to adjust the levers?

I was googling and trying to figure out compatibility was confusing. I just assumed because both Shimano they would be fine?

Thanks 🙂