Okay, this is weird! Fuel tank rejects fuel.

[CraigM]

I had this when I lost my fuel cap on a road trip, and the only cheapo auto store replacement didn't keep a tight enough seal.

How's your cap?

Pro-tip I found somewhere online at the time to get me home: there's a little button thingy right next to the filler hose on the car that our ignition key can push. Supposed to be pushed by the gas cap. Anyways, push that while you pump slowly and you can at least fill up to get you on your way. Getting home and putting a proper cap on it solved the issue.

[thom4782]

There are two symptoms. They may be related to a single problem or you might have two problems.

The fuel smell suggests a leak somewhere in the EVAP system. It could be a crack in the top of the tank gauge to a worn o-ring in the fuel cap or any of the hoses connecting things to the charcoal canister. Is the fuel smell always present or just when you fill the tank completely. In my case, it was there when the tank was between full and half full. This turn out to be the tank gauge.

The hard to fuel problem can have several causes. As one poster mentioned there is a TSB associated with a hose slipping inside the tank. Or it could be a plugged carbon canister. In could be literally anything that keeps the fuel system from venting as the tank fills with liquid. BTW: There is a shut off valve associated with the carbon filter. And sometimes, it can be just the pressure in the hose from the pump. If it's high like it is at some stations, air can't vent quickly enough and the pump handle clicks off. In my car, I both re-tied the hoses in the tank according to the TSB (actually the shop did it) and I replaced the carbon canister on my 14 year old DD. I did these at different time and the slow filling problem got better with each fix. Now its fixed completely

Hope these ideas help