By DAVID KOENIG DALLAS (AP) — The average price that Americans pay for gasoline is closing in on $5 a gallon, another drain on the wallets of consumers who are paying more for many other essentials too. AAA said the nationwide average for regular on Thursday was $4.97 a gallon, up a quarter in just the last week and $1.90 more than drivers were paying a year ago. GasBuddy, a service that helps drivers