So…, talking about this with my D, age 23. She says girls give you their # to text and set up dates. Long phone calls, not so much. Tons of texting, not so much. You might be missing their signals. She also suggests you find a female friend who can give you honest feedback, as mentioned above.
OP: I don’t believe the thread title. If you truly were “giving up on dating”, you would have bought a cat. Hang in there !
Obviously, this all takes many forms. D1 had a 3 hour conversation with her bf before they met. The talking takes away the physical rating aspects. Or all the physical ways you’re supposed to impress others.
But OP, “did nothing wrong” is a 2nd hand opinion. You may have pressed in ways you don’t realize. Or talked for so much that she wondered if you’d ever ask her out.
Maybe think along these lines: toward the end of the first call, ask if you can call her in x days or next week to set a time to meet? Not just calling for more chat. “hours over a span of a few days/week” sounds like, you’ve heard the phrase, “All talk and no action.”
Then if she doesn’t answer or call back, you haven’t wasted much time.
Ghosting isn’t gentle, btw. It’s avoidance.
I’m not sure what you mean I have “overdone it”.
But that’s the perplexing part. The girls gave me their numbers and wanted to talk and they said they had a nice time and the nothing. It just doesn’t make sense.
It’s funny that you mention that because the last girl I talked to was worried she was talking too much and I told her I loved hearing about her hobbies, her life experiences, etc. She said she loved talking to me and wanted to get together and to text her the next day to set something up. I did that and nothing after a week, so I gave up.
I do that and they all said they wanted to meet. Like I said, I don’t understand why somebody would want to chat for hours, say they like the person, and then ghost them.
But that’s my point. Why would a person avoid another person when they told them they liked them. It’s puzzling.
I am not sure what signals I missed when the girls told me they liked me and wanted to meet and go out. My only guess is some girls talk to a lot of guys and they have many options. That’s my only guess.
.OP, they gave you their numbers, so they were interested enough to do that.
Between then and ghosting, something happened. We don’t know what. Maybe too much talk, maybe the talk wasn’t that interesting or somehow concerned them. Or maybe, as someone said, they did collect a few other prospects.
Look into MeetUp in your area. Pick those that interest you AND will have a lot of single women your age.
Did you date before now?
Some may be trying to be “polite” and not mean to build up expectations. Not all folks as good at candor. They don’t want to “hurt feelings,” and feel that “ghosting” is “kinder” than “honesty.”
Well every time before I was ghosted the last conversations I had were positive. Talking to others about this, it seems it’s always the same and out of the blue.
I did Meetup before. It was ok, but there definitely weren’t A LOT of single women my age.
And to be clear, I am happy being single. I really was just curious if other people had these issues.
I’m 31, so yes I have dated before.
Then why talk for hours and say they like the person?
If I’m not interested in a girl I definitely don’t tell them I like them and I definitely don’t talk to them for hours.
So, it sounds like you met online, exchanged numbers and talked for a bit but never had a date? If so, from what I’ve read about online dating that isn’t an unusual thing to happen to guys. 1) Women can feel very uncomfortable with actually meeting up, even in a public place. 2) Some people just like the risk-free flirting and attention and don’t have intentions taking it further. A common complaint with online dating apps from what I’ve read. Frustrating for sure but I wouldn’t take it personally.
Have you googled your name ?
Most I never met in person, but I have gone on dates with girls I met online.
This is what my friend (who is a girl) told me! She said girls love attention and love to flirt and say things, without having any repercussions. I am really starting to believe this is the case for a lot of girls.
I am sure most people have. Why do you ask?
Because your name may be similar to someone with bad publicity. I half jokingly suggested it.
I’ll also add that online dating is tough - especially for guys who greatly outnumber women on the platforms. ON popular sites like OKCupid, a decent looking young woman in a major city can literally get hundreds of men responding to her profile.
BTW, which apps have you used?
LOL No, that’s not the case with me.
All the major ones out there- Match, OkCupid, EHarmony, Tinder, etc.
Grad school’s the perfect place to meet someone. DH and I met there, been married 25 years. Wishing you much happiness, good luck 
Oh my. I could NEVER date another academic. shudders
Ghosting someone has been around since dating became a thing. It’s nothing new. Not worth wasting your time on people who would do that.
It’s difficult to let someone down to their face so even if they said they were into you, they may not have been. Or the novelty wore off and they realized you just didn’t click.
It’ll happen when it happens. Worrying about it too much will cause stress and pressure not conducive to making a connection.