Hey all, Again, I havent forgotten, just school holidays, rush jobs etc...
Im pretty certain that Im not losing steps anywhere, but have noticed considerable flex in the body of the machine. I had originally written this off in my head as unrelated but since realised (after a dumb moment, one of those get caught up thinking the problem is elsewhere) it could be a serious contributor to the issue. Though I think I might be experiencing a couple of small things adding up to create a bigger overall problem.
So again, once things calm down, I should be able to get back into it and finish the diagnosis...