Sorted. (as much as empi carbs will allow)
running way better than beforehand. flew back down the m5 :

:
points had closed up. new ones in and reset.
valves rechecked.
carbs off:
float pin loose on rh carb. sorted.
swarf in thread of main jet LH carb: sorted jet seated all the way in
both drawing 6n of air on each side.
return spring rh carb drilled and relocated to give better tension
all timing rechecked and rebalanced carbs etc.
fueling checked throughout the rev range.
full throttle now.
slight leak on base of manifold to head. will look at sometime. only very minor.
front two cylinders down on compression (120) compared to the back two (140). weird. might settle down.
no 1 is still popping in the carb: maybe due to above compression issue. will recheck in a couple of weeks.
exhaust causing slight backfire when throttle released.
rolling road tested and road tested over two days.
overall, a really thorough check up on it, (8hrs work in all)
recommendations: get some dells or webers, as empi are crap! (wish I had from the start as cost me more in trying to sort these out)
Best thing of all is.....
only cost me a set of points!
£4.30
all done FOC as goodwill. Fantastic!!