Noobish KA-E question

[ReaperBJJ]

So I've just been getting into working on cars over the last year or so and picked myself up a real beater '89 240 as a project car to build my skills on and someday build into a monster.

Right now it's still got the KA24e in it with some modifications done to it; 3" catback, test pipe, headers, Injen CAI, and according to the previous owner it has a shaved and redone head, 3 angle valve job, new valves and retainers, and port and polish, though I don't know if I believe that, the kid was a scam artist as it was.

I plan on keeping the KA-E in there until I'm competent enough to perform an engine swap, and also after I do all the suspension work. Anyway it's been really too cold to work on it in my unheated garage almost the entire time I've had it, but today it got warm enough to get under the hood a bit.

I noticed that the two sensors on the header were unplugged(O2 and EGR right?) I plugged the O2 back in but have to get a wrench to turn the elbow on the other sensor alittle bit so I can reattach it to the hose.

My question is, Is there any reason that the previous owner had both of these unplugged, or did he just simply forget to reattach them? I drove about 80 miles in it without either attached and nothing seems wrong(except my alternator is bad but that's an entirely different matter), is there any ill effects that could be done driving without them both in?

[TDS]

egr less so, but id say yes with the o2 sensor. I ran my kae with the o2 senor disconnected from the harness and i didn't even get a check engine light. Put in a new o2 and connected it and felt no difference either.

[pflicht]

Just out of curiosity, where do you live. Just a general location is fine...

[TheRipper]

Maybe make it somewhat louder, considering the EGR and O2 sensors are right on the manifold out of the block. Kind of like an exhaust leak.