keithhm, when you checked the radiator fan, did it come on due to the coolant getting hot or because the condensor getting hot? If the engine was cool and the condensor was hot it´s a very reliable way of determining that the A/C is really ok. You should also be able to feel one of the pipes running to the drier canister become very cold. In that case, there cannot really be much wrong with the A/C itself. It has to be something else, probably after the cooler matrix. Checked the pollen filter? A long shot, but it´s known to effectively obstruct air flow if it´s not replaced regularly. My guess is the A/C is probably ok, and really cools the air. The cooled air then passes through the heater matrix, and if something is wrong so the heat cannot be completely turned off you would get the same problem. Again, easily checked when the engine is cold in the morning. If you can get cold air then, the A/C is ok.
Avocet, about filling an old R12 system with R134, I did this with my old 1989 Fiat Croma Turbo. It had leaked and the "cool guy" told me most of the conversion talk was simply crap. This was at the time most workshops had run out of R12. He said it was simply a neat way for workshops making some extra bucks "converting" systems that already would work perfectly. As far as I know he was right. I ran the Croma for several years with R134 without any problems. And the pipework was already aluminum. Don´t know about the oil he used when refilling, but he may have changed it to a R134 compatible type obviously. I didn´t notice any differences anyways, it cooled just as good as before.
