They started in '70, so it wouldn't seem much like an afterthought. And they did some less than optimum things for smog that they changed but they left that one on. So, I doubt it is an afterthought nor do I think it would run better without it. But if you did remove or bypass it, you would not want to run another piece of fuel line, you would just want to blank it off, otherwise you would end up with manifold vacuum at your gas tank.
Mike