But did you do all the circuit changes in post #37?

 

The 3v zener diode is extremely hot, its actually melting the plastic around the breadboard

 

Yes, I started from scratch and rebuilt the circuit that you provided in post 37

Thanks for your help, seems like such a simple circuit but I am beating my head of the wall

 

Okay.
If you short across R7 (battery directly to ground) does the battery charge?

 

If I short R7 out and attach the battery directly to ground I get a charge current of 130mA. When connected across R7 (100 ohm) resistor I get a chargING current of 12mA when the transistor is on and 6mA when the transistor is off

 

If I short R7 out and attach the battery directly to ground I get a charge current of 130mA. When connected across R7 (100 ohm) resistor I get a chargING current of 12mA when the transistor is on and 6mA when the transistor is off

Okay.
Then 130mA is about what you should get when the circuit is in the charge mode.
When the circuit is indicating charge and R7 is in the circuit, what are the transistor base and collector voltages?
Are you certain the transistor is connected correctly?