Put a volt meter on the MAF output and watch it. You should see 0 VDC with no air flow and maybe slightly less than 1 V at idle.

Also, the MAF used on a 97 up with Bosch ME 2.1 ECU has 2 power feeds. A 12V to power the MAF and a 5V from the ECU to power the output. Not sure what yours has. I do know that your intake air temp sensor is separate where the 97 up system is built into the MAF.

You could also try unplugging the MAF and let go into limp. My 97 C280 had the OE MAF fail and the replacement after a few miles, the 2nd replacement has been on there over a year.