check engine light

That sounds right. when i changed motors i changed to a trick flow intake and the egr vacume line was to short to reach so i had to get another one that was laying around the shop and it doesnt fit tight.
 
You can apply 5-6" hg of vac to the nipple on the EGR valve and watch the diaphram travel. A bad diaphram can cause it to not move much. Also one can remove the valve and clean it out (they coke up). This can also reduce the flow (the debris in there causes the inert gasses to bottleneck).

It takes 5 mins or so to remove the EGR valve (two bolts or nuts, the feed pipe [soak it in PB first] and the vac line. I think that is it).

Good luck.