Told that it has a Sputhe 1156 Big bore kit. With 12 to 1 pop-up pistons. Anyone know the specs on the 1156 kit?
Your PO has sent you on a wild goose chase, and you wouldn't be the first to fall down this rabbit hole.
Sputhe made cylinder heads and cylinders for Harley Davidson's, including the iron head Sportsters. They may have made a big-bore/stroker kit in that size for the HD XR750 flat-track bike, but most certainly not for a Honda CB 750.
As has been mentioned, if it has been bored to 73mm, the cylinder sleeves will be exposed between the cylinder fins.
BTW, my 836 with high compression was also a #$%* to kick-start; I finally re-installed the electric starter a few years ago.
With that cover removed, you may be able to re-install all the original parts? You might also want to try a bore-scope down through the spark plug holes to check the piston tops.