MAF SENSOR UNPLUGGED

I have a 96 Chevy Blazer 4.3L Vortec V-6. Recently I took the blazer to
my friend whom is also a mechanic because the truck seemed to have no
balls comming off the line. pressing the pedal down to the floor almost
made the truck die out. He immediatly told me that the MAF sensor was
the problem and when we unplugged it performance was restored.. The
check engine light was on but the previous owner told me that she had
had sensor after sensor replaced without the light ever going off and
that finally she just put a peice of tape over the light. I am now
driving around with this thing unplugged. Can that harm my engine??

What are the consequences of doing what I'm doing?

-Chad