Wensleydale,
when we first got the 'one off' C130K we had exactly the similar problems, especially with the servicing manuals. We were fortunate to have regular contact (OK beer calls) with the Mildenhall Herc detachment who were able to point us in the right direction, and we the aircrew on 47 were very lucky to have an experienced C130 pilot as our exchange officer Add to this the introduction of the new stock computer at Hendon, as they tried to convert Lockheed part numbers, Federal Stock numbers and good old section and refs and you can see why we had a problem.