Re-install the charcoal canister. There is absolutely no performance gain by removing it, and it's a vital component in the fuel system. The canister will trap the vapors from the fuel tank and carburetor bowl and burn them at start-up and during cruise. Not only is this free fuel, but your garage won't smell like gas everytime you walk in. The sound you hear when you remove the cap is vacuum created from the fuel pump sucking the fuel from the tank with no vent to allow air into the tank to fill the void where the fuel was. If you install a return line, then you'll pressurize the tank without a vent. If you are dead set on not running a charcoal canister, then you'll need to buy an early model vented cap that allows air in and out of the tank. Your current late-model cap is called a vented cap, but it will only vent once the tank reaches a certain pressure for safety reasons. Your current cap does not allow air to enter the tank. I too removed the canister on my 78 TA (the charcoal deteriorated), but quickly installed a new one after walking into a garage that smelled like gas all the time. Since installing the new canister and vacuum lines, I have never smelled even a hint of fuel since, plus at $3.12 a gallon right now I want every molecule of fuel going to the carb, not the atmosphere.
It sounds like your event at the post office is something different (possibly vapor lock). Essentially, the fuel boils into vapor and you have to wait until the fuel condenses back into liquid before starting the engine again. If this problem persists, run a insulated carb gasket or spacer and route the fuel lines away from the exhaust manifolds.
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