Carefully push in the plastic grid above the licence plate. Take a long extension on a #12 socket wrench and take off the 2 bolts holding the latch to the body. Open the hood.
You can reach up from the bottom of the van between the engine and the radiator fan. I have done that once when the cable broke. it is a long reach but can be done.
If you're lucky the cable may have broken on the passenger compartment side of the firewall - perhaps where it attaches to the pull handle. If so, and you can locate the dangling end, grab it firmly with a pair of pliers or visegrips and pull it. If it is broken in the engine compartment you will probably need to go to a shop for their assistance, there really is no owner-friendly fix for popping the hood.
Acceleration Cable broken broken, you dump!
Climb under the front of the engine compartment with a coat hanger and a flashlight, reach up and grab the latch and pull it down.
I'd check the throttle cable or the kickdown cable. That squeal you heard in the engine compartment might have been a cable breaking.
If its broken, then the cable is released. IF the breaks are still sticking, then the rear brakes will have to be opened up and the mechanism freed up.
Unless the car has been wrecked, the usual problem is a stuck or broken hood release cable. If you go under the dash you can usually get hold of the end. Otherwise the cable can be reached under the engine compartment.
Make sure the accelerating cable in the engine compartment is not too tight.
use the gas tank to masturbate and ejaculate in the engine
The computer is located behind the glove compartment and is mounted on the firewall between the interior and the engine compartment. The pin connection is on the exterior near the engine for mounting the main cable connection.
Following the cables into the engine compartment. The positive cable will run to the alternator or the starter. The negative cable will just connect to a ground source (engine block, frame, etc.)
I assume you have a cable speedometer. If so, just follow the cable on the firewall in the engine compartment to the transmission. When you take the cable out there is a small gear in there. That's it.