So that's why the recirculate switch doesn't work.. someone managed to actually snap the little plastic thing which that pipe connects to at the firewall..

Unfortunately that picture makes the gap look extremely exaggerated compared to how it actually is.
If I hold it up in the light, I can see light around nearly the entire butterfly, but not enough to really see through.
I will try and get a better picture in the morning.
The idle is 900-950 on average, although on idle it seems to sound as if it has a cam, like a constant lumpy idle as the Mk3's usually do on warm-up.