Thanks everyone - I have a feeling it may be the pedal. Unfortunately I don't have another one yet....I'll go over the machine with some more oil to try and ensure it's not just the fact that it's still gummed up...I'm not getting any kind of hum out of the motor indicating it's trying to overcome resistance in the machine but you never know. When it has fired up it didn't seem to be labouring so the bad/broken connection could be the culprit..
I'll likely order another pedal - good to have a spare anyway - in the meantime I'll keep messing around. I'll keep you posted of my progress.
Thanks again for your input everyone!
Kelly