Am I crazy?

[NaturalFlavored]

Or does cleaning the egr valve help with shifting?
Also I hear a clicking noise now when I push on the gas pedal but it doesn't do it all the time. Only when I go to take off, but this started after cleaning the egr valve and nothing else.
Any suggestions on what it could be?

 

[MrGiggles]

The clicking is probably something around the throttle body or cable catching since you were working in that area.

The EGR is only active while cruising at mid-high speed. Theoretically, if it were not closing all the way, you would lose some performance.