EGR Valve Replacement

This weekend my truck's "service engine soon" light popped on. I stopped by autozone, it threw a "P1406" code for the EGR valve. I bought a new valve, and read the bit about cleaning the ports on the intake before installation. They blackened quite a bit with carbon, but I didn't know the best way to clean them. Anyway, the new sensor didn't turn the light out. Any thoughts on cleaning?

I've also been struggling to make 14mpg in my truck ('96 1/2 ton 4.3L). Think the mileage and EGR are related?

My Venture van's light came on last year, and I went to Autozone with pretty much the same results as you. The counterman told me to run a bottle of fuel injector cleaner through and see if that clears the problem up,(which it did, I had the code cleared, ran the cleaner through, and since then the light has not come back on, {{{knocking on wood as he says this}}})The counterman also said that a few of his customers took their vehicles to a Valvoline Instant oil change place and had their fuel system cleaning performed with good results also. I don't know if you have those where you are located, but it's another suggestion. Working in a garage in the past I found about about BG Products, and they sell a fuel system cleaner that removes carbon, the only problem is that I don't think you can buy their products in a parts store, either buy it at a garage if they will sell it to you , or have a mechanic put it in. I also use Lucas brand products and have heard a lot of good things about them. Their products can be purchased at retail auto parts stores. Those are a couple of avenues you can try to clean some of the carbon from the ports.

Thanks for the suggestions. The light actually went out on the way home from work yesterday. I have been looking for a good fuel additive though, I'll have to give either Lucas or BG a shot.