just wondering what is the easiest way to check if my EGR is working. i think my hesitation is either that or my O2's one or the other.

 

You can manually move the diaphragm in and out to be sure it is not stuck, but you would need to apply vacuum to it to see if it operates smoothly and can hold vacuum.

During part throttle the EGR solenoid operates under pcm control to let vacuum from the engine operate the valve.