All sorted.....
I put a bigger amp fuse in the circuit which solved the slow turn over and basically there was a short on the starter switch after pulling the dash out previously.
The tapping was not the tappets, it was the half moon gearbox plate catching on the flywheel. After a bit of leveridge from my best screwdriver all is fixed.
I gave myself a big pat on the back after doing the engine overhaul with a new gearbox at the same time too, and it runs as sweet as new with response time out of this world.
The sound with my sidepipes is an added advantage.
