Jim, if the top lever moves that easily from recoil like you are saying I would compare this gun to another you have and see if you can feel any noticeable difference in the top lever tension. It's very possible you have a weak top lever spring, because the gun should not try to open upon recoil.
In what MarkOue stated by tensioning the spring more on the safety, I believe that your thumb is on the safety and recoil pushes it forward again. Bending it will help.
As far as the safety push rod being put in wrong, I think that is hard to do because of the way it is made with the bend in it. The little hump at the end backs up to the safety slide and it fits in the groove just right.