Unplugging the MAF still did not let me start the car. Lito sent me a revision but by this point the car had fouled two sets of spark plugs and a pair of front o2 sensors. On the new set of plugs, new o2 sensors, and Lito's revision, the car fired right up but then the MAF counts were way high.
We narrowed it down to a faulty MAFia. I let the car idle on settings 1, 2, and 3 and the MAF counts stayed at 375-400 on all three settings so I ordered an HPX MAF. This particular MAF was rebadged by VMP and they called it VMP 5000. The coating on the plastic body was too thick to slide into the MAF slot so I had to file off some material. I hated having to do that but now the car runs better than ever before. Just a few fine tweaks from Lito and I'll be good to go.