Dianavan
I'm not an amateur but a professional ostoepath.

Without knowing the cause of your injuries it is difficult to give an accurate diagnosis but from your description of the feeling of the rib "popping back into place" it sounds as if one or more of the ligaments holding the rib to its' vertebra may have snapped. This allows the rib to move in an aberrent direction, the nerve under the rib then becoming subjec to pressure from the rib below, thus causing pain.
The pain you describe is typical of this condition.
Unless the rib is actually poking through the skin or into the lung the only way to diagnose a broken rib is by X-Ray or scan. No amount of palpation will be accurate.
Unfortunately many GP's will do no more than tell a patient what they think the patient wants to hear, rather than making a proper diagnosis. GP's, generally, are not trained in musculo-skeletal conditions, particularly in the UK.
My advice is that you should see an osteopath or chiropractor for a professional assessment and recommendations as to treatment. Both are well-trained in musculo-skeletal conditions and, at least in the UK, properly regulated by their professional bodies.
By the way, if you are going to Sidmouth FF I will be there as Festival Osteopath.
Colyn.