AW11 konis

chasing front Konis. must suit early model with 47-48mm strut tube. this is the OD of the steel strut tube. later models used 2" or 51MM OD tube and are bigger inside also. the inserts for these wont fit the early models

Can I confirm you're after the front Konis (Part number 8641-1071Sport), as I'm pretty sure they didn't change with the year. It was only the rear struts that increased to 2" from August 1986 onwards. 
If it’s the fronts you're after, I've got a set that have been sitting on the shelf for a few years. They were for a project that never got off the ground, and have never been out of the box. I'll send you a message.
The ones on ebay look to be 8641-1072, which are the rear units for the pre August 1986 MR2s.
 

Yes, difficult to answer.
You will need someone who has the D2 coilovers and a standard set of struts to compare them.
Not only does the tube diameter need to be the same, but the thread for the tube nut needs to be the same size and pitch as the Konis come with a specific nut to hold them in place. If the tube is the same size there's a good chance the pitch will be the same.
Also they need to be the same length, I don't know, but it's possible the D2s are shortened to allow for lowering of the MR2.

Sorry if I'm rambling on about things you already know, but I thought I'd throw in my 2c worth.
The Koni 8641-1071 (front) inserts are 382mm long. If that's too long, you might be able to use the 8641-1072 (rear) inserts. The rear strut tubes are about 25mm shorter, so I assume the 8641-1072 cartridges are as well. 
Failing that, are you able to modify the 2" struts from an AE86, or something similar, to make them fit? If so, the Koni 8611 series are another option. They're a bit more expensive, but have separate adjustment for bump and rebound, and come in a number of lengths from about 290mm to 390mm. I've just shortened the front struts in my AW11 about 50mm with these, but haven't tried them out yet. As the AW11 has the narrower front struts, I had to modify a set of SW20s to fit.

I've still got a set of the Koni 8641-1071Sport (early AW11 front) I'd let go if you're interested.

I think you have got some of the information turned around here. If you are looking for strut inserts to fit the front of a particular Corolla than you are actually looking for what were rear strut inserts for the aw11. Remember that the Corolla was a front engine car using the equivalent struts as found on the back of the aw11, where its engine was at. Additionally, the rear Corolla struts would have been similar to front aw11 struts. I do know for a fact that a certain Corolla used the identical strut inserts as found on one end of the aw11 (believe it was the rear aw11 inserts to front corolla inserts match) as I owned a pair of some TRD inserts awhile back that I did some research on, and eventually sold them to a friend that just happened to have the matching Corolla that they would fit. I had given up on trying to find a matching set for my front end, and he had a better chance of finding matching ones for his rear end, since those were different inserts and more plentiful.
 
As for aw11 front inserts, they were all the same from '85-89. It was the '84-86 rear inserts that changed for the '87-89 models (becoming wider and shorter). The strut insert size change coincided with Toyota adding the heavier SC to their line-up in '87 for Japan sales (USDM held up until '88). I've owned both versions and have had to deal with the differences.