PASSSSSSSSSSSSSSSED IT!!!    lots of that after work tonight, haha.

This time it rocked it. NOx half the allowable limit and everything else on the low end of the scale. I knew I was going to get a free retry so I took out the baffle this time just to see how it went. No issues at all. I also left my tweaked AFM settings as they were (two clicks rich, two turns rich on the screw) and left my timing at zero during the test. I put it back up to 5 BTDC immediately after and now she's driving like a beast.

Interestingly, HC and CO, while still very low, were three times higher than they were during the runs without the EGR working. CO2 was nice and high indicating a good mixture, not lean.

emsvitil, what header do you have? I seems reasonable that something like the LCE, where the EGR notch may be too small, requires a bit of extra backpressure to force exhaust gasses through there. I thought since mine killed the motor so easily at idle that it would be fine at speed without a baffle. My reasoning was at idle there would be the least amount of pressure from exhaust, compared to 3000 rpm and up, where the EGR system is supposed to kick in.

So for reference, the Remflex I had is the 7002. It COMPLETELY blocks the egr passage in the head. They also make the 7010 that does have the egr passages in it. I actually think I am going to pick that one up and use it instead of the crappy engnbldr gasket I have in there right now that has a slight leak. (Probably from mangling it a bit while cutting out a bit of extra gasket between the EGR holes and the main ports.) I actually really like the fact that the remflex uses low torque on the studs. (20 instead of 35 ft/lbs.) I do not think I will cut out any of the next gasket I use, the DT seems to have plenty of space.

So, I must admit that while I was hating on emissions at the beginning of this adventure I am glad to have gone through this. My truck is running better than it ever has and I assume I fixed some vacuum leaks along the way. I have a ton of low end grunt and the idle is rock solid.

Also, a note for EGR. I do not notice any difference or loss of power in the upper rpms. I do not know why people disable this system, maybe just for some myth that EGR will rob horsepower, or that if a system is there to help emissions it must be from big brother trying to control our lives. My butt dyno tells me it does nothing to hurt the power output, and lowering cylinder temps can ONLY be a good thing for the motor.

So, to recap the EGR test. To make sure the valve works, put vacuum direct to the top nipple on the valve during idle. It does not need a lot of vacuum to trigger the valve - mouth pressure was easily enough. Motor should run REALLY rough and want to die. If it passes that test, put a T into the line from the truck that is supposed to connect to that top nipple and put a vacuum gauge on it. With a warmed up truck, you should see vacuum at 3000 rpm or so. If you see vacuum, your EGR system is working, it's that simple. On my motor (85) this is all mechanical, no electronic control. The EGR gets vacuum once the throttle butterfly has passed the upper ports on the throttle body, thus exposing them to manifold vacuum.

Thanks to everyone for chiming in and helping me out! Great ideas, great diagrams, great everything I'm putting collector plates on this thing so I don't have to do this again for five years, haha.