Beating a tree-trunk to get the sap to flow in the Spring is an old wive's tale. I would look for other causes of the lack of fruit if I were you.

I thought beating was to inhibit sap flow, similar to girdling by removing a rind and other methods to induce blooming.

What was that old adage?
A dog, a wife, an apricot tree,
The more you beat 'em, the better they be.

(Ducking to miss the rotten fruit being thrown at me 8>0)

Is it possible your tree was mislabeled? Rootstock take over? If it were Goldkist, you should be getting some fruit. It's listed as being self fertile, like Royal. Time to put down the hammer and take out the grafting knife.
My Sha Kar Pareh apricot was a big 15 gallon tree when I bought it three years ago. The first year there was one apricot; last year, three. Disappointed, this year I decided to graft over a third of it with other apricot scions. It's set 20-30 apricots on what's left of the original branches. Guess I scared it.

The beating was to stress it and make it think its gonna die (which it will if it doesn't produce). I'm pretty brutal about a tree pulling it's weight around here, as I don't have room for losers. My mother-in-law is scared she's next (relax mama, you're a keeper).

It only adds insult to injury that all the stonefruit trees around it are outrageously productive and I have to thin like crazy and prop branches up. I'll be interested in Mara's results for the best apricots, as it's a topworking party next year.

The beating of the cherries produced about four cherries each. See, it works!

Applenut