The best indicator of a bad hose on one side or the other - which side does
it pull to when you stand on the brake? The side it pulls to is the side
opposite to the bad hose.  Say you're pulling left - that means that more
fluid pressure is getting to the left caliper than the right.  This is
usually because of a swollen hose.

Regarding rubber brake hoses, I would recommend that you buy hose clamps.
Mole-grips can crush and pinch the inside of the brake hose.  Even though
you can't see the damage, you may be restricting the flow of fluid.  Hose
clamps aren't that expensive, and will save wear on the hoses.

Also, I would check that your caliper pistons are retracting when you lift
off. If they're frozen then you'll need to rebuild.

Anthony, you say you've got half brakes - are you running a front/rear split
system?  If the braking is very weak, then I'd say you've probably got great
rear brakes, and it could well be a hose/caliper problem up front.

Also, did you bench bleed the MC before installing it?  New Masters run much
better if you bench bleed them first.  A quick n dirty how-to:

Run pipes from the outlets on the MC back into the reservoir.  Then fill the
reservoir with fluid and push the piston back and forth by hand.  You're
best to spread a towel around as this CAN get messy.  Also, as you're
pushing on the piston you're best off holding the MC in a bench vise.  Keep
pumping the piston until you see no more air coming through the pipes from
the outlets.  Then fit the MC as normal.

Chris