[Bacardi and Bloke]

I finally got my Epiphone Les Paul Standard all tricked out with tonepros stuff, Tusq nut and bridge saddles, locking tuners, an RS wiring upgrade, all the fun guitar boob jobs and face lifts that people recommended on this website, and I'm really enjoying the results. Except:

I put in a Gibson '57 classic in the neck position and a '57 classic plus in the bridge position for pickups. The Classic Plus sounds great, but the regular '57 classic in the neck is awful. It's just weak as hell, and has such less output than the classic plus that I can't even really switch between the two without a major disparity in volume.

First question: Did I just happen to get a bad one? Or are they supposed to be like this?

Second question: What would people recommend for a replacement neck pickup to pair up with the '57 classic plus (i'm definitely keeping that one in). I was thinking a Burstbucker, but I'd like to hear your suggestions.

Once EVERYTHING'S done, I'll put up pictures when i get a chance.

thanks!