Heat Riser Mod?

[Flmarine71]

Original 1978 350 on k5 Blazer
Does it appear from these pics that the PO got rid of operational heat riser? If so, could I replace air cleaner with aftermarket one and valve cover breather (that doesn't connect to air cleaner) and get rid of the riser tube altogether?
I'm in central Florida so doesn't get real cold. The PO hacked up the stock air cleaner pretty good to fit on edelbrock carb so I wanted to replace. The sensor has been removed from air cleaner.

From reading other threads it seems purpose is to heat up carb when cold but someone also mentioned removing could contribute to fuel percolation in carb due to lack of air flow? Any other reason to keep? Thanks.