Hey Don.
Forget about the taper crimp. Those bullets are 160gr and the rifle is a bolt action.
Take variables out of the equation.
Take a fired case and insert a bullet into it. If it even seems to be a friction fit the neck is too tight.

Also, take a loaded round and measure the neck. Compare this to the same measurement on a fired round. Should give you a rough number of how much expansion you have to work with

Also check your case length as too long is bad for the same reason. Forcing the mouth of the case into the throat of the chamber causes the same problem.

As far as the case gauge is concerned, a fired case should be your starting point. It will let you know what headspace you are dealing with and you can size .001-.002 below that.

What bullets (manufacturer and diameter) are you using? I'm sure that I missed it but I didn't find that in the reading.

If you want to look at another project with some similar experiences check out this site:

http://www.rathcoombe.net/sci-tech/classics/mannlicher-1895/classic_mannlicher.html

Tom