I hate the headlight intake idea. Had it in the 94 and hated it. The radiator hose is right there giving off heat and building a box wouldn't cure KR problems because they are prone to becoming heat soaked. So after talking to Todd at Bfest and tearing things apart I have already started gathering ideas. Take a look in picture form:

Evap, OEM PCM tray, K&N short ram, Evap lines...they all gotta go:


The remains...a perfect intake opening:


Possible Evap relocation, or maybe under the frame bolted from below:


If I mount below, then I would attempt running the evap lines through this hole near the radiator:


So the questions arrise...would the evap need to be in a cool place? Can I run without the evap canister for a short period of time for testing? Is there a way to bypass having an evap canister all together? How do I find a new location for the PCM?

Let'* bring our heads together because this is very possible. I have INTENSE 3.5" tubing on the way to do a test fit and see how the filter will lay. It'* mainly where to put that darn canister and how to secure the PCM.

I like this idea. You could get a custom burned PCM from INTENSE that would ignore the evap junk.
That hole seems perfect for an intake, but is there a possibility of water soaking the air filter?

Constantly feeding a CAI box with air will keep intake air temps within 5 degrees of ambient if not better. Being SCed you don't need the most laminar airflow for power, and as long as your MAF see'* a good airstream you'll be fine.

The FWI isn't a bad idea, but make some scoop that shoves air down it'* throat. Maybe use a filtercharger ontop of it, to protect it from debris, and extend life. If you wan't to get inventive, place the filter somewhere like inside the bumper (where my ducting is run) and have a small ram below it, forcing air into it, then run the pipe around the headlights, and into the TB. You'll have air that hasn't entered the car yet at all. Some problems I see with this are blocking the rad too much, but it all depends on how you do it. Bumper well Intake? BWI? lol.... Just dumb ideas, but hey it might work!

Looks like your well on your way to getting this done. My main concern is getting the filter wet and hydrolocking the car (deep puddles). A little mist isnt going to hurt you but you will want to look at walling off the holes in the bottom of the bumper. The 00+ bumper is all enclosed except for the radiater opening shield it somewhat.

I'll mock up some shield to block off the filter. After reinstalling everything I got a check engine light, then noticed the evap electrical connector was disconnected, but even after connecting it I still got the light. Think disconnecting and reconnecting the battery would be the cure or did I do something wrong?

IAT sensor?

Iat shouldn't set it off so soon, and I bet you still had the hookup in the sensor.

Codes may need to be cleared, or after a couple starts it'll go away.

IAT will hit instantly on the S2. Did you start the car with things disconnected? If not, im guessing something isnt hooked up. You can hit an autozone and have them pull the codes for free.

I started with evap disconnected...its in now. I'm suspecting that.

restart it a few times and see if it goes away