I would agree with all of the advice you have already been given and congratulate you on using the “aerial work” route to get where you already are. If that opportunity is still available to you then I would hang on to it and keep building that experience. From what you have written, you look like a determined individual who has gone out looking for stepping stones to progress to your eventual goal. If you can, keep working and amassing experience. Keep sending out CV’s. Go knocking on doors.
Your experience will stand out from so much of the “I have a CPL and 200 hours, now where’s my A320/737 job?” That you see on these forums. The problem is getting the opportunity to present it. The world is going through a metamorphis at the moment and the next few years are likely to see a lot of changes. It’s very hard to envision of scenarios where terms and conditions don’t take a significant retrogressive step. Experience will be available to recruiters at truly knockdown prices for the foreseeable future. At the entry level I think we are moving back into an era where aspirants are going to have to work to get there and actively seek out entry level opportunities no matter how elusive those opportunities might be. The good news is that you are already quite some way down that road.
On the subject of your examination failures, you live and learn! We all make mistakes and the secret is to learn the lessons of those mistakes. If a company makes that a bar to recruitment I would raise an eyebrow about their wider safety philosophy, but since there is nothing you can do about it....move on! In reality, I would be surprised if the fact bore much similarity with the rumour or popular folklore.