EGR Valve & Port Cleaning??

My car has been hesitating very bad during acceleration, and almost stalling when cold. I had the EGR valve replaced, and the shop told me that the ports were so clogged that the intake manifold would have to be removed to clean them properly. I'm going to be doing that part myself, but I need to know the best way to clean them thoroughly before I get into it. What is the most effective way to do it? Thanks...

I don't know exactly how to thoroughly clean the intake manifold but I do have a question for you. Would it be possible for me, a half-way decent shade-tree mechanic, to change the EGR valve and the control solenoid? I realize that there are some attendant port cleaning issues, but how hard can this job be? I got an estimate today from a Precision Tune place and they wanted 4.8 hours labor @ $65/hour.

I cleaned the erg valve by myself and im in my late teens, i had all the tools, and taking it all apart, cleaning it, and putting it back together took me about 3-4 hours and i had done alot of research on it. Its not that hard itf you have patience and the time.