Oh, never mind the opti vent then, I was thinking you had a 95.
As far as the EGR valve, look at the back side of the intake and see if the valve is still there, as well as the solenoid.

 

That line going under the tb is going to the evap solenoid on the other side of the intake, at least it does on mine. The one with the screw in it is for the EGR. I would try to reconnect the one in your hand with the other end under the throttle body. The other end of that should go to a vacuum line that is in with the fuel lines (in that big piece of loom with the fuel label on it). At least thats the way it is hooked up in my car. It comes out of the fuel line loom, and does a 180 to run to the other side of the intake, under the TB. Your correct, the 94 did not have a vented opti (at least mine did not). I'd get all that back together. Mayb not solve all your problems but at least you knowthe evap system is connected back properly. Then check the EGR. If you have one there it needs to be hooked up to a vacuum source (from what I understand), if it is not there, then leave the port plugged like it is and make sure it does not leak. Here is the EGR:

http://shbox.com/1/egr1.jpg

 

Take that piece in your hand in pic #3 and hook it to the line under the throttle bldy and the line coming out of the fuel line bundle.

 

Any suggestions on repairing it? The way its cut its not long enough anymore.

 

Heres a pic of the whole thing.

 

good grief

please tell me we are not leading the OP to believe that the EGR would cause his backfiring issue?

Has anyone noticed the use of a sheetrock screw as a vacuum plug? It beats my golf tee I use temporarily when i find my supply of plugs has walked away.

OP- yes, you need to understand what's going on under the hood including if the EGR is disconnected and it had best be tuned out or you will have a check engine light. Just reconnect the solenoid and the light will go away after disconnecting the battery but it's best to tune it out.

When are you going to address the backfiring issue?

 

Get some lengths of hose that the hard pieces will fit in and piece it back together. Thats the way mine is. Take the loose piece with you to autozone or somwehere and buy some tubing that will fit around it and seal it. Usually some vacuum tubiong will work, probably 1/4" ID.

 

If you are asking me that question, the answer is no. Nowhere did I say that. I said fix the evap. line. It's broke. Get that fixed and out of the way since that is an obvious problem and an easy fix. I'm not the know all, end all here, this is a collective effort to provide him with info to fix stuff. I'm just trying to help him get the whole thing fixed. Yes, he still has an ignition and/or opti problem that needs to be addressed,but whats wrong with pointing out some other things that also need to be addressed? He asked what its for, I told him, also suggested how he fix it. Do that and move on to the next thing.

 

I didn't hear anybody suggest anything either. I was simply pointing out what's disconnected.
His car has obviously been messed around with. Part mess, part messed up!

 

Yeah, the more i look into stuff, the more and more things i find that have been rigged up. I never assumed that the disconnected hose was causing the issue, as its been like that for god knows how long and the problem just started. It is nice to know what its for, and since im already fixing stuff i should fix that as well.