Here are your parts
Replacement parts for MAYTAG MDE7500AYW DRYER- ELE | AppliancePartsPros.comSee the attachment for a manual.
16023110 Maytag Sloped Front Dryer Repair Service Manual - ApplianceDigest.comYou will have to join the site to download the manual but it is free and has lots of info for the appliance DIYer.
Unplug the unit and check the cycling thermostat and the high-limit thermostat with a meter both should be 0 ohms.
Then check the heating coil.
Unplug the unit and both wires to the coil.
Check it with a meter, should be around 10 to 12 ohms.
Then check from each side of the coil to the case/frame, both should be infinite ohms (open). If not the coil may have sagged or broken and is touching the case. This can cause it to run on high and the thermostats cannot regulate it so the thermal cut-off blows.
This may have contributed to the wire burning out.
This may have been your problem and it has now burned out the heating coil or a thermostat.
Now for your original problem.
Just taping up the wire would not have fixed the problem as you have seen.
If you have a dirty or pitted connection it is a resistance. So when current passes through it heat is generated basically that is how a heating coil works.
This causes more pitting etc., which increases the resistance which increases the heat and so on and so on till the connection fails.
You will have to cut back the wire till you get to nice clean copper and the attach a new connector. Be sure to use one rated for high current.
From the sound of it I would also replace the heating relay.
If you do not own a meter, I would suggest you purchase a one. You can get a decent digital multimeter for under $20.00. You do not need fancy though it is nice if the leads are a couple feet long.
If it saves ordering one unnecessary part it has paid for itself and you end up owning a useful tool.
Most places will not let you return electrical parts so if you order it, you own it.
A couple things to watch when measuring ohms and continuity
1. Always remove power from the machine otherwise you could blow your meter.
2. Always disconnect at least one side of any device you are checking. This eliminates the possibility of measuring an alternate/parallel circuit path.
3. When checking for closed contacts and continuity use the lowest scale (Usually 200 ohms). Then try higher scales. This scale is 0 to 200 ohms so if the device you are measuring is 300 ohms this scale would show an open circuit which it is not, you are just measuring outside the scale's dynamic range.
There is a good STICKY at the start of this forum about it's use.