The universities don’t care about a gap in years unless it’s been 20 or more years and then it’s a credits issue. Age is just a number. You will see students who are older on all of the UC and CSU campuses.
The universities do care about all classes taken after high school. So if you had any classes, anywhere, after high school, those transcripts have to be sent in. They will be averaged with your current classes.
Why UCLA and Berkeley? They are some of the toughest schools to get into in California. If you are having difficulty or weaknesses in any subjects now, then you will have it really tough at those schools. The level of instruction at the UC’s is rapid and tough. UCLA is on the quarter system which means you only have 10 weeks to perform. UCB is on the semester system, but the student level of performance is insanely high.
There are schools everywhere in California. Don’t limit yourself to two of the toughest schools that reject even perfect candidates. Berkeley is forgiving, but if you don’t have the numbers, both UCLA and UCB will be long shots.