94 Camaro - need to have intake ports cleaned?

My Camaro recently failed the smog test, so I took it in to get it diagnosed and the mechanic said my egr system isn't working. He said I need a new EGR valve (ok, replaceable, I can deal with that). Then he said my intake ports are covered with carbon and need to be cleaned, and he said there is no vacuum coming from the engine to the egr. Is that common? Any comments or ideas about this? I don't want to pay for 6 hours of labor if that may not be what is actually affecting my smog reading. Thanks.

I can believe the EGR problem, but the intake port part is a bit of a stretch. I would just get some fuel system cleaner and run a few bottles of it thru over the next few weeks/months. No need to clean it the hard way...