i very recenty bought a 97 blazer, 4dr 4x4. i don't know much about cars but when i bought it, it ran a little rough and i thought i could fix it up a little.
it starts a little rough and on take off i have to kinda pump the gas to really get it going. also the engine was rocking under the hood a little more than usual. i talk to a friend and they thought all these problems sounded like it could have been 1 or 2 cylinders not firing from bad spark plugs. so yesterday i replaced spark plugs, distributor cap/rotor, wiring, pcv valve and ran some fuel injection cleaner through it. it runs a little better, with more power....
HOWEVER, last night i was showing off the new vehicle to a friend, started it up in the garage and there is an unusually strong smell of gas. there is no smell of gas untill it starts, and it seems like its coming from the exhaust system. i also noticed that since it was bought that it was burning through the gas quicker than i thought it should. i don't know where to start and i looked through the forum but was overwhelmed with tons of posts and half helpful information... any thoughts?

starts rough, smells of gas, runs 'good' on highway but eats up my gas

 

Hey! It sounds like you have a problem with the EVAP canister (located way up under the left rear wheel) and as well probably a fuel line issue. One should not smell fuel vapor under operation-there is a pressure loss somewhere that is causing the odor and the related poor fuel economy! You need to search this site for related issues! You may have fuel tank related issues as well(bad gasket at the pump or broken plastic EVAP lines to the tank itself) You will probably need to drop the tank to find this-at this point a new pump would be well advised as also!

 

is the Canister supposed to look something like in this video?

also, in browsing parts websites i came across canister purge valve and canister purge solenoid. is the EVAP canister one of these? or completely different parts.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U3crtXGKWzI

 

Finally fixed the problem
It may be $750 later, but i guess i am just relieved it is done.

I took it to the mechanic to get fixed because i didn't feel i had the skills to take apart the the whole intake. apparently i had a leaking Fuel Pressure Regulator, he said there was a pool of gas in the intake, and two of my injector hoses were burnt up. showed it to me and said there had to have been a fire in the intake. the two hoses were all black and burnt up and the injector pieces were melted. said he had never seen anything like it before. i asked a guy at work about it and he was thinking that the leaking FPR could have caught fire if the engine backfired because of the pooled up gas. all in all i am just glad this is over with.

PS.
this was a very well reviewed and trustworthy mechanic.
also didn't have the money to buy the spider ($350) or pay someone to do it ($150) as a 3rd party so i ended up having to aplly for a NAPA auto care credit card even tho i could have saved $250. hope this helps someone else, but i hope no one else has to go through this at all.
thank you all for your help