Having ran dirt track cars for many years and running large front sway bars on them you can get a ride height gain if the sway bar links are different lengths. To pre load the sway bar on an oval track car I used a 1 1/4 inch longer link on the right front than on the left front, and yes, the RF would gain ride height after the links were connected, just confirming the links are the same length may be the OPs cause of this gain in ride height.
On an oval track car the preload is used to make the bar more responsive by putting twist in it at a stationary stance.
