You should be able to find another ecm cheap. Anybody that has switched to a weber has no use for one. You might borrow one from a friend and try it. I don't know about running one without the ecm all together. On mine, I pulled all the hoses except the vacuum advance, and a hose from the intake manifold to the charcoal canister. It seems to be running fine. All the switches are disconnected and I'll pull the ecm next. I plan on saving the parts in case it has to pass an emission test in the future. It starts effortlessly right now but I have to hold the gas for a second once it starts until it gets past the first cough. Fuel mix, idle, etc. may have to be adjusted but I haven't got that far yet. It will be cold in a couple days so I can see how it starts and runs on a cold day.
-Adam