What happened to gasoline in the mid 1970s?

I agree...and "I'll" come back and quibble that the amount of hydrocarbons "flashed" from evaporation pales in comparison to those released when fuel is burned.

Surprisingly, they're comparable. Here's a study that tested several 60-70's era vehicles : https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/00022470.1980.10465171?needAccess=true

The study basically showed that 1/3-1/2 of the total vehicles' HC emissions were from evaporative sources.

Interestingly, California's emission inventory data shows that light-duty auto evap hydrocarbon emissions are slightly greater than those from exhaust.