Yep, seems there is no funny business going on between the flash chip and the sil chip, and there is a nice 3.3v regulator right below the flash chip for me to pull 3.3v from, just gotta track the 5v trace to a sutible point so i can switch it to 3.3v

found a ebay seller in france with the chips, still a little steep at £6 but not too bad for a one off buy, and it shouldn't take too long to get here