We need to get a better idea of what hose we are talking about. Neither if the hoses mentioned, so far, would cause a vacuum leak. If the truck runs okay with the hose plugged and runs crappy with it open, that hose goes to something other than the differential or the coolant reservoir.
We need a good photo or a detailed description of the other end of that hose.
As far as I know, there aren't any vacuum hoses in the area of the MAF sensor, either above or below.
It would also help if we knew what Make/Model/Year truck and engine we are discussing.