turnsout it was the dome on the pushrod ... so i got an adjustable one from the local mechanic and modified it to fit with no effect on the piston when idle ... without a booster i can get the whole car to lock up with heavy pressure on the pedal and it pulls up really nice when just driving normal so i wouldnt think that using a booster would give you any real benifit (for all those thinking of doing it)

BAH! so I pulled it out and modified the dome and got an adjustable rod and its still friken happening!!! if it was the m/c piston wouldnt I have a problem when I go to bleed the brakes because it wouldnt take any new fluid and wouldnt flow out of the bleeder valve on the caliper?

After the car has been sitting for a little while, how much free-play do you have in the pedal?
You should have a couple of mm before the rod starts to push the piston.

Were the calipers new/reconditioned or secondhand ones that have been sitting for a considerable amount of time?

the calipers were fine coz i gave them a tidy up myself and the pistons arent sticky

Could there be a problem with the rear drums that are affecting the front's?

I dont know exactly how a split front/back sistem works? but they are still relativ to eachother. my front break's yousto hardly work at all and it was because my rear drums were incorectly adjusted

when you tidied up the calipers did you inspect the large 'square' ring that seals the piston?
was it hard or still soft?

a hard sealing ring in the calipers will sometimes cause this problem as it doesn't help to retract the piston properly when you take your foot of the pedal.

the M/C was the problem ... turns out that the freeplay on the piston was only like half a millimetre so when i put the washer that holds the pushrod in, the piston couldnt release so i've had to put my old leaky one back on grrrr