F70 gas leak - solved

[Emflwell]

I was going to post my odd issue but I solved it in the meantime. I wanted to post it with the solution in case it helps others. My boat is garage kept and one day I walked into the garage and was overwhelmed by a gas smell coming from the back of the boat. There was a bit of gas pooled in the back of the boat. The boat has a portable red 12 gallon gas tank so I checked that first. Research led me to believe it was coming from the fuel gauge on top of the tank as the hoses, bulb, etc. were in good shape. I sealed the gauge, tightened the hose connection, cleaned the fuel cap gasket and everything seemed good for a while, but the smell returned weeks later when the weather got warmer. This time the smell was strongest near the fuel line connector where it clips into the outboard. I opened the cowl and found gas pooled in the front of the engine area (outboard was slightly tilted). I checked the fuel hoses but with the engine tilted I could see gas dripping by from higher up on the engine. I then checked the fuel pump by loosening it slightly from the engine and using the bulb. It wasn’t leaking but I did see spurts where the fuel filter cup screws in. The cup was screwed in firmly but I was able to tighten it a bit more. So far that seems to have fixed the issue.

In summary:
checked gas tank
checked gas gauge, cap, fuel line connections
checked fuel pump
checked fuel filter

TLDR: fuel filter cup tightened further fixed leak

i hope this helps someone in the future.