so its prob the carbs?

how easy is it to screw up when trying to adjust them?

when i took my tank off the other day to get to the leads etc i had to drain all the fuel out, is there an easier way to just stop the fuel when removing the tank?

and with the carbs, to balance them do all the mix screws in the bowls have to be at the exact same hight or is it down to the fuel level in the bowls?

Lets do this in stages. First of all, run the bike at a high tickover for a few minutes without the choke and so that it's got good and warm. Then stop it, let it cool and take the plugs out. Post up a picture of the plugs so we can see what colour the business ends are.

If your fuel tap is working properly then when you disconnect the vacuum pipe from it no fuel should come out. It should only release fuel when the engine turns over and creates a vacuum in the pipe leading to the tap which will in turn operate a diaphragm and allow fuel to pass through the tap and into the feed pipe leading to the carbs. I don't think there is an "Off" position on these taps but there is possibly a "Prime" position which allows the carbs to fill from empty. Make sure the tap is not in the "Prime" position or the fuel will run freely from the tap when you remove the fuel pipe.

Come back to me when we can see the colour of the plugs and we can go from there.