Think i found the problem – looks like the uri is too long – i was trying to enter around 1000 terms at a time from debug i got
Failed to load resource: the server responded with a status of 414 (Request-URI Too Long) (21:57:04:684 | error, network)
at wp-admin/admin-ajax.php
can anything be done to get around this (apart from entering less terms of course!)?
thanks