I am now getting some vertical banding! any suggestions?
Clogged nozzle(s) probably. Do a nozzle check again, clean and check again.
Did the attachment send, by the way? Perhaps you could see if it looks funny on your monitor?
No, it was not there. NB. only small files can be attached to posts: "Maximum attachment size allowed: 256 KB, per post: 4". If you have cloud storage (Google drive etc.), you could post a link.
Does anybody have advice on how to brighten a photo in photoshop thats raw and all within gamma? should it look a bit 'too bright' on the monitor to compensate
That is a completely wrong approach! I said in my first post print are usually too dark because your monitor is to bright - match the monitor to your prints, not the the other way round.
then set the driver to no colour adjustment.
It's still not clear if you are setting colour management correctly.
Is the profile for the paper you are using and showing in the properties tab, is the paper type set correctly?
See attached screen shots for my R2000, Properties tab with Epson gloss paper and Epson profile; Driver setting and Quality setting.
Terry.