What was going on when I was born?

With conservatives in full control of the debate, the Republican platform committee today crushed an attempt to endorse the proposed Federal equal rights amendment. The panel then also defeated a statement saying the party respected the views of those who support the amendment. In a long day of debate, the committee also turned aside attempts by party moderates to soften language supporting voluntary prayer in the public schools and barring Federal financing of virtually all abortions. The committee completed a platform draft this evening. It will be officially adopted Friday and will be presented to the party's national convention here next Tuesday.

An article yesterday on candidates' campaign airplanes omitted the most recent restriction on reporters aboard. The campaign of Representative Geraldine A. Ferraro has stated that all activities aboard Mrs. Ferraro's plane are ''off the record'' - not to be reported without special permission.

As depositors inundated the American Savings and Loan Association with inquiries today about the safety of their money and made what appeared to be an abnormally high number of withdrawals, the question of a possible Federal bailout of the nation's largest thrift institution became the most pressing issue within the industry. The Financial Corporation of America, parent of American Savings and Loan, reported on Wednesday that the thrift unit had less than the required minimum cash on hand to meet demand for payment on 5 percent of its deposits. It added that the situation was not likely to get any better this month. Financial also reported on Wednesday a loss of $107.5 million for the quarter ended June 30. The loss is believed to be the largest ever reported for one quarter by an American thrift institution.

Housing starts fell 6.6 percent in July, to an annual rate of 1.761 million, the Commerce Department announced today, signaling that this sector of the economy is slowing down because of the rise in mortgage interest rates. The month-to-month decline in single-and multi- family starts followed a 5.1 percent increase in June and a 11 percent drop in May. It put the annual rate well below the 1.933 million average registered in the first six months of the year. Starts of single-family homes dropped for the third month in a row, plummeting 10.1 percent to an annual rate of 982,000. July is the first time since December of 1982 that single- family starts have dipped below an annual rate of one million.

Citibank, which has said that it wants to add insurance to its array of financial products, began offering life insurance policies yesterday through an insurance company at two of its New York City branches. Under the arrangement, term, universal and whole-life policies will be sold at Citibank by salaried employees of the American International Life Assurance Company of New York. The company, a member of the American International Group, which took in more than $1 billion in life insurance premiums last year, has leased space in Citibank branches.

Jurors said today that both a belief that John Z. DeLorean had been entrapped by the Government and a conviction that the Government had not proved its drug-trafficking case against him figured in their decision to acquit him. Eight of the jurors discussed their deliberations in an unusual meeting with four reporters after the verdict was announced. This meeting followed an even more unusual meeting, among the jurors, Mr. DeLorean and his lawyers, and Federal Judge Robert M. Takasugi that lasted almost two hours. Jurors Keep Names Secret At the meeting with reporters, the jurors refused to identify themselves by name and used numbers that had been given each of them when the jury was chosen more than five months ago.

The Economy Housing starts fell 6.6 percent in July, to an annual rate of 1.761 million. The decline followed a 5.1 percent increase in June. Starts of single-family homes dropped for the third month in a row. Economists were divided on the implications of the housing figures, coming on the heels of other reports that painted a confusing picture of the economy's outlook. (Page D1.) Factory use rose 0.5 of a percentage point in July, to 82.5 percent. It was the 20th consecutive increase since the recovery began and the highest level reached in more than four years. (D13.)

Denouncing the ''devil-may-care'' attitude of some parents, President Reagan today signed a comprehensive bill to enforce payment of child-support obligations. The measure, the product of nearly two years' work on Capitol Hill, was approved by unanimous roll-call votes in both houses of Congress. The votes reflected a bipartisan desire to address an issue high on the agenda of women's groups in this election year. The new law applies both to families receiving welfare assistance and to families who support themselves.

The Calendar column in The Home Section yesterday incorrectly included an entry for a fair that has been canceled. The Hudson River- Front Arts and Crafts Fair, planned for Kingston, N.Y., will not take place.

In shorts and sun tops, with children, bicycles and dogs, about 75 residents of this small village stood in protest at the driveway of the Consolidated Freightways truck terminal this morning. The crowd booed when a truck with a 45-foot-long trailer pulled out onto Oak Tree Road. They booed even louder when a tandem truck, hauling two 28-foot trailers, pulled out behind it. Consolidated Freightways, which wants to use tandem trucks here, was trying to show that a tandem truck is no worse than other trucks that have been going in and out of the terminal for more than 20 years.

Friday CONNECTICUT SEAFARE Oysters and bluefish will be celebrated and eaten as a part of fish-fry festivals in two Connecticut villages. In Clinton, just off Exit 63 of the Connecticut Turnpike (Interstate 95), bluefish is the fish du jour. A three- day affair, with auction and parade, begins at the Town Dock tonight at 5 with bluefish dinners (about $5), and they'll be served again tomorrow and Sunday from noon to 7 P.M. Information: (203) 633-5231, extension 570. In Milford, an oyster festival starts tomorrow. An oyster-shucking and eating contest will be held at 2 P.M., and oysters, clams, shrimp, sausages and peppers will be sold from booths. Milford is reached via the turnpike to Exit 38. Information: (203) 874-5550. LATIN MUSIC IN BROOKLYN Latin music is on the weekend's Prospect Park bandshell agenda in Brooklyn. Tonight, Undercover and the Roland Sanchez Ensemble perform. Tomorrow, Jorge Dalto and the InterAmerican Band and the Paquito d'Rivera group play. Sunday, it's Louis (Perico) Ortiz and his Orchestra and the Charlie Palmieri-Luis Ramirez Sextet. By subway, the bandshell, at Prospect Park West and Ninth Street, is reached by the IND F train to Seventh Avenue or by IRT 2, 3 or 4 trains to Grand Army Plaza. Information: 768-0699. Time: 8 P.M. DIZZY GILLESPIE ON L.I.

The Mexican peso, a coin worth half a cent, has become a $132,000- a-year problem for the Triborough Bridge and Tunnel Authority. The toll machines on the authority's bridges cannot distinguish between the $1.50 tokens they collect and the silver-colored peso. The use of pesos started soon after a new token was introduced with a fare increase in April 1982, authority officials said. Now, about 7,300 pesos are collected from fare machines each month - the equivalent of $11,000 a month in tolls.