Quality VDO electronics
On my car the cruise will work great for some period of time, until it will suddenly decide you need to go 30 mph faster then you were before. It will floor the go pedal, and hitting cancel on the stalk won't stop it
Taping the brake pedal does shut off the system through.
There is a large connector on the passenger side fender on my car, I think it's 10 pins, which is only for the cruise control. I'd think a 617 equipped car would be similar.
-J