[jkeyzer]

I don't know if I'd want a straight line of vapor from my gas tank all the way back to a backfiring airbox.

That just seems like a bad idea.

If I were you I'd either keep it the way it is (which is probably the best course of action) or get rid of it and vent the tank in some other way. I don't have a charcoal canister, the PO had plugged the line so I removed the sealing ring from the cap and vent that way. Seems to work ok.