how do i maintain the abs bypass on my 97 integra 2 dr something?

i got the car from my mom who told me her when her abs system needed maintenance
or repair of some sort , the techs told her the part in need of replacement was located
in a spot that was only accessible after removing the fuel tank. so to avoid a $1500
repair they instead disconnected  the abs system altogether. They also told her it was
just like driving a car from a time before abs was invented i.e. if she hit the brakes
hard enough the wheels would lock up etc.(is this true so far) Well according to the
techs it was pretty normal-periodically- for the brakes to give a clicking feeling or
slipping while trying to lock feeling toward the end of a stop if you stopped too hard but
not quite hard enough to "lock 'em up" on any car. That would happen or a disengaging
buzz sound or clicking with an electronic sound to it would happen at the end of a
stop.(is this true too?) my main question is this: with everything mentioned so far, now
the car smells like a burnt or snapped vacuum hose after a few minutes drive and i
swear i can hear a humming, buzzing, or ringing as i drive normal speeds though town
(0-40 i est) and when i slow down i can hear something on my passenger side like a
grinding that seems to go with and slow down with the rotation of the wheels. Its
almost the same sound  a car would make if a brake part came loose inside the hub
and started to grind.only softer and you can hear each rotation come and go in a way
that you can tell its matching the speed of the car. Whats going on with my abs and
how do i repair it or even, how do i physically diagnose this without code readers or
computer diagnostics?