It's pretty simple once you understand what the source is for every type of gas they test for. As mentioned earlier, HC is excessive unburnt petroleum from either fuel or oil. You need to lean out your A/F ratio. Realize that the ECU is going to do everything in its power to make sure you're idling at stoich. And if it's successful in doing so, you shouldn't have any problems passing emissions, so thus there's either a problem with the ECU's ability to control A/F, or it's getting incorrect sensor input data.
First start by making sure your front O2 sensor is working properly. Sounds like it might be lazy. The front o2 sensor is the biggest player in a/f ratio. Another input that affects A/F ratio is coolant temp sensor. I'm pretty sure the 1g is the same as the 2g in that it has 2 coolant temp sensors - one for the cluster, and one for the ECU, so the coolant gauge working doesn't mean the ECU is getting a signal. The MAS has an indirect affect - if it's not reading right it'll change the A/F ratio, but then once the o2 sensor sees that change it should correct for it, however it could cause the ECU to surpass it's range of correction. This is how your SAFC corrects for larger injectors, so checking that it's working fine should be next.
Once you've made sure all the inputs are good, move onto mechanical. You don't need to check outputs, because if you're inputs are correct, there's no reason for your outputs to be bad (injector pulse times and such). This is where you're going to check your AFPR, intake pipes and hoses and such. This is also where a cat would help as well.
A simple way to force the car lean is to turn down the fuel pressure since you have the AFPR. You'll eventually turn it down past the point that the ECU can correct for, and start running leaner.
