Ah yes, great idea again.
So I did as you said and plugged into the slave input, and used a paperclip to connect the sleeve to the tip. The ground noise was reduced by probably 80% but was still slightly present. Guess it's time to check the caps and for loose connections in the pre section.
The pre section has 8 blue 2.5uf 64v caps, and also some black caps that are 2.2uf 25v (22 of these), and 2.2uf 50v caps (only 2 of these).
I did the chop stick thing and tapped the components on the board while the amp was on and I didn't hear any extraneous noise through the amp. I don't think it's a loose connection but I'll keep looking. If you have any more advice other than to check the caps in the pre section and possibly replace them please let me know. You've been well helpful so far so thank you.
Can't wait to get this thing running strong.