haha_Yes adjust needle with eng at idle / stationary. Tell U, I would not be hanging out of the drivers side window, hauling in 3rd gear @ 3000rpm, with bonnet up trying to get a visual of the actuator lever resting against the vane limit stop screw.
Darren Dawes had a replacement spring for the early Brass Dawes boost controller. Send him an email and he may send you one for elimination purposes (explain the boost situation briefly) _
info@3BarRacing.com
Clean the Dawes you have and see how she performs after a clean. CRD can run happily at max spool, so u can shut needle right off.
I have a Tillix boost controller here and needle valve that I could loan to you to see how boost behaves.
Do you still have vac solenoid under the bonnet and plugged in to elec harness keeping ECM happy when using manual boost control?
I currently run VNT vac solenoid with the ECM, in conjunction with a Dawes (3barracing) and needle valve for boost limiting. Can try a couple of other things but give your current setup a go again first for info.