Can anyone tell me what this is?

Mine has an electrical connector on it...... I want to say they used it for the EGR, but I'm not sure......

Basically yes. EGR was developed to control NOX but was not introduced in 71. Later years combined all this "EGR" included and more to rob us from power and save the Earth. Today they have refined it to the point we have the SRT Demon with more power than we ever dreamed of in the 70's!