ghost note or tied note?

[et92130]

i'm not too sure if this is a ghost note or a tied note

9p7 (7)h9

do i tie the 7's together...not too sure because there's no tied slur between them? or is this a ghost note?
does there always have to be a slur between two notes to show that they're tied?

[markc2005]

in some tabs i have seen it meens that you play the second seven but hit the 9 almost instantly, but it could just be to indicate that the 7 is not released and that it should be played more like 9p7h9