I filed my taxes with this 1099 misc and what was reported on it of $2173. I got a letter from the IRS stating that my employer showed over $9004. So there is like a $7000 difference. I contacted my previous employer and they said they have to look into it. IF there was to be a corrected 1099 misc, I never received it. What should I do. I do not want to owe the IRS any money for an error from my previous employer. So now at this time I owe the IRS almost $4000 due to this. I want to appeal this but an not sure if it is worth it. I only ever received the one 1099 misc with the $2173 amount and never got one for the $9000 one. What should I do? I need to respond to this by Feb 8, 2012.

Even if you got a wrong 1099 MISC (you would be an independent contractor, not an employee), you are still responsible for reporting all your income no matter if you got a 1099 or not.

You should call IRS and ask for copies of 1099-misc received by them.
Then you will need to amend your tax return. Or based on info in their hands, IRS will send you a tax bill.