Firstfives.org

So I recently swapped my head and changed my gasket...

It took me about 4 months and everything seems to be in order now {!!!},
but my brakes are not as responsive as they were before I pulled everything apart.

After some driving, I saw some slight improvement, but the car is not at all braking like it was.

I haven't really ventured into the brakes area of my car yet;

This may be a newbie question, but
is there any particular reason why my brakes aren't as responsive now?

Need to be bled of air? You live near the water, so the brake fluid may have sopped up a lot of that as well, which probably isn't causing the issue you notice but may make a negative difference in any series of hard braking you might do.

I'd flush the brake fluid and bleed the air out.

KenB

What ken said. Highly unlikely your pads or rotors crapped out just from sitting. I have had similar issues on some of my cars if they have been sitting

After a little driving, the brakes improved much.

I still have not bled them but I am 99% certain there is a little air in the system.

Rotors and pads seem fine!

Without knowing the last time the calipers were apart, not likely never in thirty years. If they work, don't pull, leak or stick to not retract, technically you don't need to fix what ain't broke.

If you pull the pads you can see the seals are good, not ripped.

Having said all that, I just pulled a working set of calipers apart, to be amazed at the rust fudge behind the pistons. Previous posts note the easy way is buying rebuilts, if available. If not, there's a FAQ on doing it yourself and kits are cheap. Just remember to remove the pads, push the pedal to get the pistons out as far as possible.