Some more research done over the weekend regarding the Bosch VE injection pump.
It appears the off-boost power screw and diaphragm position settings are related as they will both adjust the position of the fuel pin in relation to the boost cone.
The changes needed differ depending on the diagnosis found:
1-Low power off boost but ok when turbo kicks in - adjust screw only.
2-Ok off boost but low power when turbo kicks in - adjust diaphragm.
3-Low power off boost and low on boost - adjust both BUT adjust diaphragm first as it will also alter the off-boost setting.
4-On-boost power band is too late (high rpm) - adjust star wheel C/W and CC/W if it is too early.
Smoke and 'feel' are the diagnosis measures. A properly tuned diesel engine should 'just' emit black smoke at full/high power settings i.e. when you punt it a bit
, they should never smoke all the time as this means wasted fuel as it is not being burnt. Note this is black sooty smoke only not grey etc. It should smoke when revved but then go clear as the engine settles again. 'Feel' is the tricky one as we all want more power but over egg the sponge and the MPG will go south and look out for burnt valves etc. His only reply to "What about the max fuel screw?" was "Dont go there, best left alone".
This was learnt over a couple of pints with a distant friend who spent some years working on these things when they were state-of-art stuff so back a while i guess
But it does all seem to make sense so i have no worries about its validity. Its a simple pump by todays standards and very reliable, it popped up on quite a few vehicles.