---

As a general rule, levers prefer a finer grind and a lower dose. They also are largely immune to the force of your tamp. As long as you have an even distribution and a level tamp, you can usually use anything from 2 to 30 pounds and end up with the same extraction. (It's all about the preinfusion.)

I'm assuming your Saeco had a pressurized portafilter, so the size of the grind wouldn't have made any difference in the speed of the extraction. The size and quality of the grind are much more important on your Pavoni. You didn't say which grinder you were using, but I'm assuming it is the Baratza Virtuoso. It's a very good coffee grinder, but for espresso it is unfortunately marginal, so it will give you some consistency problems.

You might want to read up on some of the methods people use for controlling water temperature. 204F is a little too high for some coffees, so lowering the grouphead temperature can reduce the water temperature to a more useful level (the wet towel method, or using a cold portafilter to pull heat out of the group.) You might want to get one of the temperature strips that Orphan Espresso sells to put on the grouphead, it can give you a good idea when to pull a shot.