I know, I'm a noob and this will probably take about one post to tell me, but what is going on in this picture? Pics of my 305 tbi in 92 camaro, what is the flexible(not too much anymore) tube coming from the intake? does it need to be connected? is it important? ive seen some cars without it connected but i have no idea... any info welcome thx

 

It's your heat riser. It's part of the smog system and helps your engine warm up faster.

 

so it would be best to reconnect it then?

does it do anything for exhaust cleanliness, horsepower, or gas mileage?

 

Whoever took the aircleaner off last didn't put it back on. It lets the car get heated air from the exhuast manifold shield, the vacuum soliniod is the round part on the end of the snorkel just above it, it opens and closes depending on how warm the air cleaner box is by a "thermac switch" inside the air cleaner, it works like the choke, heat it up and the bimetal tang closes the curcuit.

 

The theory is that by feeding warm air to the motor when its cold will allow the choke to back off sooner, which would save you some small amount of gas each time it starts up cold, eventually adding up to a big savings over the life of the car. Its probably one of the few things that is super cheap to equip a car with that can actually save you money in the long run.
Make sure the vacuum hose is connected by popping off the foil hose under the air snorkel, there is a flap just inside that will be closed when the car is turned off and should open when you start the car and the air cleaner is cool to the touch.