AusBonsai

I wrote this long post... then it ate it... so here it is in condensed form

I have a plum, it is looking peaky. this is due to neglect and insect damage. it has been slip potted into a larger training dish, and treated with confidor. I am contemplating chopping off all the branches and just leaving the trunk to see what happens. what do you think?

Umm, NO. The confidor will do its bit and then the tree will have time to settle before winter. With a bit of lovin it will be good as gold. During March and April, fertilize with "bloom booster". Although it sounds just like a flower booster (which it is) it also repairs damaged roots which you will probably need.
Give it one more season.