OK, so to answer my own question.
I took the car to a local auto electrician who tested the coils and found the front two were harldy suppling any signal. Being 18 years old I guess it was time they expired. So I got a new set of Super Spark coils and connectors shipped in and fitted. The sparky said the wiring was perfectly ok, (says little about what a mechanic knows about this stuff, and he wasn't complimentary about mechanics either when talking about their knowledge of auto electrics).
So the existing loom was re-wired to the new coils and the car is running perfectly well now. I'm a happy camper
With that last major "under the hood" issue dealt with I can now plan on some new rims, complete re-spray and new sound system.