Tennessee officials are vowing to investigate price-gouging by gasoline retailers in the wake of the Gulf Coast hurricanes as a major Tennessee-based chain of gas stations and travel centers denied illegally raising pump prices in Florida and North Carolina. Tennessee Attorney General Bob Cooper said the state is analyzing whether the spike in gasoline prices across Tennessee is the result of price-gouging or a reasonable reaction to supply disruptions. In his words, “There is a difference between profits and profiteering.” State Department of Commerce and Insurance spokesman Chris Garrett said more than 500 complaints about gasoline prices were made over the weekend and staffers were still busily taking consumer calls yesterday. There was particular concern about East Tennessee, where Knoxville recorded the highest average gasoline price in the country Monday at $4.65 a gallon, according to auto club AAA. The state average was $4.11, up from $3.94 on Sunday, with Nashville at $4.05; Chattanooga, $3.97, and Memphis, $3.86.