I've only owned an aftermarket hood and w/s frame. It's my feeling that if all the body parts are aftermarket - from the same manufacturer, then they all fit together. I sense that issues are seen during mixing/matching.
My w/s frame attachment arms weren't right - so I bent them. Its better now but I bribed a body shop into fixing my original that had screw holes everywhere in it. The aftermarket hood was straight - no "oil canning" but the hinge wasn't right. It caused the hood to sit too high at the cowl when attached. I swapped out the rear hat channel/hinge of a bad original hood and was satisfied. Until I ran across another original hood.
To your questions, there is a gap that runs all the way around the cowl - the hood should not sit down on the cowl. I've noticed most hoods have a gap of about the same width all the way around - not noticeably wider on the sides. There is also a gap between the side of the hood and top of the fenders - but 2 inches seems pretty wide.
Lawrence Wades' jeep:
https://cj3b.info/Photos/Owners/Wade/WadeBeachwoodTop.jpghttps://cj3b.info/Photos/Owners/Wade/WadeFoliageClose.JPGhttps://cj3b.info/Photos/Owners/Wade/CurtisPhotos/HoodHinge.JPGHow close to the radiator guard contour is your hood? Nearly flush?
Have you scoured through all the images to compare?
Can you post images?