Ok, so this EGR solenoid is specific to CA spec Monteros. Apparently my truck is one of those.

The local dealer was able to (with my help) trace the part # that was listed on the old part and get a valid Mitsubishi part number: MR127232

He was able to find and order the part from a dealer in California, but it looked to be the last one by that number in the US. He also said it hasn't been obsoleted yet, and he could have placed an order into Mitsubishi Japan. The cost is the same as the other more common solenoid ~80$

 

Meant to revisit this post sooner, but I've been moving around a lot and just forgot about this. Just wanted to put this here in case anyone else might find the info useful:

For starters, my 1996 Montero SR is California spec and like others have said, there is a specific CA part number (MR127232 - EGR Solenoid). None of the various go to parts suppliers seem to have them. I really needed it to pass smog so ended up taking it to a mechanic who had just as much trouble pinpointing the part. Fortunately, after calls to various dealership, they found the "last" part of it's kind. I believe i needed this part to resolve the following fault code: P0403.

I had also replaced The Evaoprative Emission purge solenoid. (Fault code: P0443).

Once those two components were replaced, I was able to just take it in to a smog center and passed on the first try. Note, if you're using a scan tool to check whether the vehicle is "I/M Ready" to get smog tested, it's very difficult to get it to that point with this model year. From what I've researched, unlike later models, getting the sensors to show readiness is very difficult. So much so, that for the 1996 Mitsubishi Montero, the test machines will ignore the readiness for Mitsubishi 96-97. For reference, on page 31: https://www.bar.ca.gov/pdf/Smog_Chec...te_Version.pdf

Also, thank you to everyone who chimed in,
-Tom