There is a distinct gas odor when car is parked in garage. It starts fine and runs with no problems. Why such a strong odor?

This is a very dangerous and serious concern. Do not store car in the garage. I would not drive this car. This car needs to be serviced by a qualified automotive service technician .

One of the most likely causes are squirrels or other types of animals chew into the plastic fuel lines. I have been told it is the ethanol in the gas? Others clam that it is the soy in the wires. Rodents have been reported eating the wires and fuel lines of cars parked at airports?

I would be considering if the fuel cap is pressurised, if it is then the charkhole canister breather my be blocked . but if it doent start straight away then u must be loosing pressure in the fuel system,does it make a difference how much fuel is in the tank ?it can be the fuel over flow pipe if you fill the tank right up and park it the fuel can swell, it exspands. I hope this is of some help. if not I would like to know were you park it ,how much fuel is in it , is the swell strong inside the car or under the bonnet , in the garage

Sounds like two different problems.
I would have the engine computer checked for trouble codes and the body computer for ABS codes.
The brake problem could be the master cylinder, the gas smell could be a fuel leak or a problem with the venting system for the gas tank.

that where the tank vent comes out replace the evap solenoid

could be gas cap is'nt sealing to filler pipe. replace gas cap. If this does'nt work check fuel vapor return line for leaks.

The gas cap might be leaking the gas fumes. Replace and that should fix the problem.

The smell indicates a leaking fuel line, so check this ouit asap.

we call these vehicles exploders.. lol
sounds like a fuel delivery issue, does it throw a check engine warning?

I recently had the same problem. It turned out that the fuel regulator on the engine at the left side just above the intake manifold had an intermitent leak. The gas leaking was not always visible so I had the regulator changed and that solved the problem.

If it won't fire off of starting fluid,time to check for spark.Remove a plug wire from a plug,and insert into the boot a medium sized phillips head screwdriver.Snap the screwdriver in,and lay it somewhere near a ground source,within a 1/4" from the ground source,but not touching it.Have someone crank the car over while you LOOK for a spark arcing from the screwdriver to the ground source.Do not hold the screwdriver as you may get a JOLT if you do.If no spark at all,try another plug wire.If no spark,you have an ignition problem.