Do I or don't I  

You can't flash to an earlier version.
The 207 flash was successful.
Did you go to the Exit menu and load the Optimized Defaults, then save and exit?

This also could be due to the wrong time and date in the BIOS.

Am having greta difficulty in sending post TV but time and date ok and trying all sorts of things bt right now a $1700 doorstop

The flashing was successful since it shows 207. Check that optimized default values are loaded.

Done that plus checked the secure boor etc and this is what I get with the secure boot without it is that small black and white screen .
It just will not boot to anything - I did find the optical drive listed under SATA config though it is not listed in the Boot tab??

Ok just a little update I installed the original drive back in that has that Windows 8 on and it booted to 8 so what gives with the 7??

It keeps asking me about the secure boot but it doesn't make any difference what setting it is on I get that red screen.

Does anyone think putting a new drive in and installing the Home version that is already tied to the board be an option in that what the seller put on is corrupted somehow??

Am now really annoyed with Asus and their darn set up with the BIOS why couldn't the drivers all be for 7 & 8?? instead of just the one for WLAN

Yes, Secure Boot must be disabled for W7.
There is no setting that says "Disabled". You just change it from "Windows UEFI Mode" to "Other OS". Windows 7 is an "Other OS".

If it has a setting for CSM ("Launch CSM"), be sure that is enabled.

Side note: this Secure Boot thing is a Wintel scheme. Asus is just following orders.
(Wintel: collaboration between Microsoft and Intel)

Well have tried both ways with and without and as per the previous pics I get either the black and white message or the red secure boot one.

Now because the thing is booting into 8 with no problems I am wondering if I should juts get a new drive and install that 7 Home version back on in case that seller has put on am OEM that is or was not done properly. That will have to wait until I get back home (at work) and hope the machine will boot from the optical and install that version because that is what I did in the first place and then found out about the 7 drivers requiring this update.

I sent it back thinking the seller could install 7 (at an extra cost) and if he had to change the BIOS then it would be his problem, but he didn't obviously do anything with the BIOS and so I find myself in this mess and maybe having to run 8 on the machine after all which is a great disappointment. Plus the 8 is on a very slow 1TB spinner (5400rpm) and to clone it is too expensive.

In hindsight I should have left well alone. I am still pretty miffed at Asus all the same because the drivers for 7 could have been incorporated with the 8 install BIOS as I sad before the WLAN one was but none of the others.

John, the problem you are having is an odd one. There should be nothing you need to do with the hard drive or the operating system after flashing the BIOS.... other than resetting the BIOS to where everything was before the flash.

Hopefully you made notes of all the BIOS settings before you did the flash. Otherwise you must rely on your memory.
When you flash a BIOS it will automatically go back to the Optimized Defaults. You must change the default settings back to your preferred settings. If you installed W7 on this laptop before then you would have had to have made changes to the BIOS settings to do so. You would have had to set Secure Boot to "Other OS" to do so.

A BIOS flash will not change anything about the OS installation. Your W7 installation will work without any alteration. You just need to figure out what changed in the BIOS settings to cause this problem. You only need to work with the BIOS settings until the W7 drive starts normally.

Do you mind posting screenshots of ALL the BIOS windows and sub-settings? One of us may be able to see something that stands out.