Agree that rack is hideous.
Having owned this exact year in AZ I would not be too concerned about the check engine light. There is a ton of dust in AZ, which will typically clog the MAF sensor (especially if it has an intake). At this age - the O2 sensors down stream from the cats may need replacing, and at this mileage - there is a transfer case sensor (top of the T-case, not inside it) that often needs replacing.
All three of these will quickly trip the OBD, yet are easy/cheap fixes. I say this because I had to do all three on my 99 around 150K miles over the course of about 2-3 years. I'm not saying these sensors are what is wrong with this rig, just that these motors are typically bulletproof, and those three items are know to be a little sensitive at age/mileage.