David,
While it is certainly not, as has been said, 'too easy' it is doable.
The tags macros are complex because of how flexible they need to be and how many different situations they are used in. It makes it rather difficult to figure out what you change to get your desired alternate behaviour.
The tiddler to copy (or edit) is $:/core/ui/TagTemplate
If you edit it you will change how every tag in the wiki behaves. It sounds like that is what you want, if not you would need a to use it as a template like {{tiddlerToMakeTagOf||ModifiedTagTiddler}}
anyway, put this inside the tiddler $:/core/ui/TagTemplate
The line
<a href=<<currentTiddler>> target="_blank"><$text text=<<currentTiddler>>/></a>
is what sets what is on the list, here it is just a simple link to the title of the current tiddler that gets opened in a new browser tab. If that isn't what you want either let me know or change the line to be what you want.
\whitespace trim
<span class="tc-tag-list-item">
<$set name="transclusion" value=<<currentTiddler>>>
<$macrocall $name="tag-pill-body" tag=<<currentTiddler>> icon={{!!icon}} colour={{!!color}} palette={{$:/palette}} element-tag="""$button""" element-attributes="""popup=<<qualify "$:/state/popup/tag">> dragFilter='[all[current]tagging[]]' tag='span'"""/>
<$reveal state=<<qualify "$:/state/popup/tag">> type="popup" position="below" animate="yes" class="tc-drop-down">
<$set name="tv-show-missing-links" value="yes">
<$transclude tiddler="$:/core/ui/ListItemTemplate"/>
</$set>
<$list filter="[all[shadows+tiddlers]tag[$:/tags/TagDropdown]!has[draft.of]]" variable="listItem">
<$transclude tiddler=<<listItem>>/>
</$list>
<hr>
<$list filter='[tag<currentTiddler>]'>
<a href=<<currentTiddler>> target="_blank"><$text text=<<currentTiddler>>/></a>
</$list>
</$reveal>
</$set>
</span>
To use this in a list put it in some other tiddler, I am assuming you call it ModifiedTagTiddler, then make your list of tags like this:
<$list filter=<<whatever filter you are using>>>
{{||ModifiedTagTiddler}}
</$list>
hopefully that helps.