got these two things done finally today....... i can feel a little difference.....i can hear that nice high pitched whine quite nicely now

Be careful with the maf screen gone. Make sure you monitor the idle.

I've been running my 98 this way for 3 months now. No problems.

3800 NA likes laminar air flow, the MAF screen provides that

So, mertis wants it removed, he'* SC'd, MOS doesn't, he'* NA (poor soul)??

as far as i was aware with the SC you want the air coming in as straight as possible...granted the MAF screen is a restriction it straightens the air flow.
How many turns/ bends do you have in your intake?
if you are using an F-Duct i recomend putting the MAF screen back in...the F-duct creates turbulence in your air flow...not god if you dont have a MAF screen.
ust my .02

i have a FWI with hardly any bends, no F-Duct turbulence and i still left my Maf Screen in.

Yes, I remember reading that. The general feeling was not to remove it unless you had an aftermarket intake, such as the ADTR, then, after that, it was about a half and half controversy.

The GTP has the stock ribbed intake duct, and a ZZP stage 2 throttle body (meaning it has no MAF screen) and it seems to run very well setup like that. It runs smooth at idle, part throttle, and WOT. We would change it to see if it improves (unlikely), but don't want to mess up the car and make it run slower. I think if you can run 12.4'* with it like that, it probably isn't much of a problem.

So your saying that the ZZP stage 2 throttle body comes with no MAF screen straight from ZZP that way?