emission control causing rough idle?

Yes and when he gets a flash fire from dumping something flammable into a running engine following your advice, won't you just feel good? I never advise anything flammable looking for vacuum leaks. I cannot for the life of me figure out why in the world people do it and they do it all the time. Water in a spary bottle works just as well, if not better with no danger of fire. I have seen a person go to the ER for 2nd degree face burns from an under hood fire and explosion because he was using carburetor cleaner looking for vacuum leaks. I strongly advise against it.
You're right.....I wouldn't recommend "dumping" gasoline under the hood of any vehicle for any reason. As long as the engine isn't backfiring and it's just at idle adding a few drops of gas from a primer can won't cause much of a fire if something did go wrong. I have never had a problem with using Berryman's or WD40 for checking gasket leaks in the 40+ years I've been doing it so didn't realize others have had a problem. You've actually had a car catch fire using those products?