MAF problem

[84LX89GT]

The best way to clean a mass air flow sensor is by using electrical contact cleaner so no residue is left on the hot and cold wires, I wouldn't recommend using anything to actually rub against them although that is better than them being contaminated and not running.
If you have a multimeter you can measure the MAF signal back to the processor, it should be between approximately .8v and 1.0v at idle. If you can disconnect the MAF sensor and it runs fine, it means the processor is substituting it's own value for the MAF instead of reading it, and chances are your MAF is garbage. Another thing you can try that i've seen work occasionally is lightly tap on the MAF sensor while it's running. It should not effect the way it runs when you tap on it, but internally broken MAF sensors will hickup, sputter and/or die when you do that