"doing a rollover from the 401k to the IRA will start a new 5 year clock, even if you already met the 5 year clock on the 401k "
Correct. The 5-year clock for the 401(k) does not carry over to the Roth IRA. The 5-year clock for Roth IRAs starts the beginning of the year for which the individual first makes a Roth IRA contribution (which could be a rollover). However, if the distribution rolled over from the Roth 401(k) was a qualified distribution from the Roth 401(k), the entire amount rolled over (not just the contribution basis in the Roth 401(k)) becomes contribution basis in the Roth IRA.
