EGR system malfunction & Stray ground
 

I have a 95 4runner with a 3.0l. My check engine light recently came on and i took it to a shop to run a diag on it. They mechanic gave me a trouble code of 71 which is EGR system malfunction. I really don't want to pay someone to do something that i am totally capable of doing, which i did anyway by getting the diagnostic.Which brings me to my question. I wanted some input on how i should go about troubleshooting this problem without going straight in and replacing the valve itself. Any input would be helpful. I also have a ground wire that i found not connected and not sure what it connects to. It is already grounded to the body and i was wondering if anybody had input on what it is suppose to be grounding. I attached a link to pics of the cable that i hope will help. The location of the cable is on the driver side of the engine compartment.

http://pictures.sprintpcs.com/share....tate=RETRIEVED