Throttle Linkage and EGR questions

[griffigr]

I just replaced my lower intake gasket, and now I've got a couple of questions before completing the job. First off, when I removed the upper intake, the EGR tube decided to crumble and break off from the exhaust manifold when I loosened the nut. Will the truck still run if I remove the EGR sensor? I'm thinking it will. I live in Michigan and we aren't required to go through emissions testing, so I'm not worried about that. Secondly, I cannot seem to get the throttle cables to mate correctly against the upper intake. I think I'm missing a pin on the lower coil spring. How are these things assembled? I was able to connect the "ball and socket" connection, but when I put tension on the throttle, the lower spring disconnects from the throttle body. Am I missing something completely obvious here? Any help would be awesome.