Hi Umberto.
Further to my last.....I ran the download manager again, this time opting not to download updated AFCADs and FSX now runs but still no pull down menus.
I'm not sure whether this is relevant but I went to the Couati log and saw this timed with the FSX being loaded.
couatl v2.0 (build 2374)
log started on Mon Dec 22 23:24:22 2014
connecting to SimConnect...
connected to FSX
bglmanx non ready yet, waiting.
disconnected from SimConnect.
Possibly a clue?
Mike