I feel somewhat lost on trems like Mastery, and some Fenders, without the lock knob. With the knob, getting the screw tightened to the 'easy-in/easy-out' position of the lock means that the trem plate is approximately horizontal, so nominally 'neutral'. One assumes that the designers have chosen a spring size that is under optimum compression when the plate is horizontal.
https://offset.guitars/site/assets/files/1073/trem1.jpg
Without sufficient compression on the spring, it may not work well with string tension to return the trem back to position after pushing down or pulling up. Any string binding points may compound this by gripping the string and holding it with sufficient force that the returning trem cannot fully overcome.
Without the lock knob to guide you, you still want the trem screw adjusted to make the plate roughly horizontal. But short of dismounting the trem (or doing it before installation), how to check that is not entirely clear. Maybe mark the screw position for horizontal / neutral with a texta before installation ? Measure the vertical angle of the protruding collet with a set square ?