Pontiac Repair: Emergency/Parking Brake

Question
The E-Brake on my 98 Sierra 1500 2 wheel drive works well stopping and holding the vehicle in reverse, but has little
effect when moving forward.  I replace the 10" drums, linings and hardware.  The shoes are adjusted snug against the drums. The cables are free and properly adjusted.
 
The brakes begin to grab and lock in reverse after 2 or 3 clicks but have little affect in forward.  It's not until the pedal is almost on the floor that the brake begins to bite when moving forward.  

Is this a common or normal feature with this era of drum brake?  I'm out of ideas of what else could be contributing to this issue.  

Thanks,

Answer
hi Colin:

first off make sure you don't have the shoes on backwards. depending on the shoes you put on some have a primary and secondray shoe and some do not depending on the manufacture you got them from . next being that the cable goes all the way to the floor before it grabs the equalizer/adjuster need to be adjusted so that the pedal doesn't go all the way to the floor. one of the rear cables has a threaded rod and there is a nut on the equalizer that attaches the 2 rear cables tighten the nut on the rod and the pedal will rise and the brakes will then hold.
good luck :-)