Finally had the time to troubleshoot this and updated the Tickle Date section to read:
--Get the Tickle Date
set mtTickle to tickle date of theMessage
if mtTickle is missing value then
set tickleTest to "No"
else
set tickleTest to "Yes"
end if
and the record creation section to:
tell application id "DNtp"
set theRecord to create record with {name:theSubject & ".eml", type:unknown, creation date:theDateSent, modification date:theDateReceived, URL:theSender, source:(theSource as string), unread:(not theReadFlag), label:1, tags:devonTags} in message_group
set comment of theRecord to mtNotes
if tickleTest is not "No" then
tell theRecord to make new reminder with properties {schedule:once, alarm:alert, alarm string:(name & " is due today!"), due date:mtTickle}
end if
--Make sure you have created a custom metadata with the label 'mailtagsimportance' or update the script
--must be last part or others don't work
add custom meta data mtImportance for "mailtagsimportance" to theRecord