ive whould not run it without the controler. ive herd of a couple of people messing their engines up. you should look for a used dobeck controler, you can find them sometimes for like 100.
Like I said before the computer adjusts for air density and altitude. Even if you pull the spark arrestor out of the stock exhaust it will run leaner. At the end of the day its your bike. Ask this same question here. www.raptorforum.com
Is it a actual programmer like one for a truck. all of the ones i have seen are more like a chip that you just plug into the cpu. The whole point of efi is to compensate for air fuel otherwise you would have to reprogram for different altitudes, like jetting for a carburuetor