-The car was built on 3/97. The throttle cable does indeed go to the sensor near the firewall and fender.
-I have an adapter that allows my OBD-II scanner to plug into the 38-pin connector. I've used this in the past to work on other cars. However, it only allows me to get "generic" P0XXX codes. I can't get anything from the SRS, ABS, or transmission, for instance.