Here's something that I came up with. The proposition below is what you're asking for but I've also encapsulated the main idea behind these results in the following lemma in case that's more helpful.
Lemma: Let $S \subseteq X$ be path-connected and $x^1 \in \overline{S}$. Suppose there exists a countable decreasing (i.e. $U_{i+1} \subseteq U_i$) neighborhood basis $\left( U_i \right)_{i=1}^{\infty}$ in $X$ at $x^1$ such that for each $i$, whenever $s^i \in S \cap U_i$ then there exists a path in $S \cap U_i$ from $s^i$ to some element of $S \cap U_{i+1}$. Then $S \cup \left\lbrace x^1 \right\rbrace$ is path-connected.
Remark: Note that we are not assuming that for all $i$, there exists a path between any two point of $S \cap U_i$. The sets $S \cap U_i$ need not even be connected so this is weaker than requiring local connectivity of $\overline{S}$ at $x^1$.
Corollary: Let $S \subseteq X$ be path-connected. If the condition of the above lemma is satisfied at each $x^1 \in \overline{S}$ (or slightly more generally, if each path-component of the boundary of $S$ contains some point satisfying this condition) then $\overline{S}$ is path-connected.
Prop: Let $S \subseteq X$ be path-connected. Suppose that each path component of $\overline{S} \setminus S$ contains some $x^1$ for which there exists a countable decreasing neighborhood basis $\left( U_i \right)_{i=1}^{\infty}$ in $X$ at $x^1$ s.t. for each $i$ and each path-component $P_i$ of $S \cap U_i$, there exists a path in $\overline{S} \cap U_i$ whose image intersects both $P_i$ and $S \cap U_{i+1}$. Then $\overline{S}$ is path-connected.
Remark: In this proposition, you can replace "of $\overline{S} \setminus S$" with "of the boundary of $S$ in $\overline{S}$". Also, to prove that $\overline{S}$ is path-connected, it may be easier to find some other path-connected $R \subseteq X$ such that $\overline{R} = \overline{S}$ and then apply these results to $R$ in place of $S$.
Proof of lemma: Pick any $s^1 \in S \cap U_1$ and any $0 = t_0 < t_1 < \cdots < 1$ s.t. $t_i \to 1$ and let $\gamma_0 : [t_0, t_1] \to S$ be the constant path at $s^0 := s^1$. Suppose for all $0 \leq l \leq i + 1$ we've picked $s^l \in S \cap U_l$ and for every $0 \leq l \leq i$ we have a path $\gamma_l : [t_l, t_{l+1}] \to S \cap U_l$ from $s^l$ to $s^{l+1}$ (where observe that this holds for $i = 0$). By assumption, we can pick $s^{i+2} \in S \cap U_{i+2}$ and a path $\gamma_{i+1} : [t_{i+1}, t_{i+2}] \to S \cap U_{i+1}$ from $s^{i+1}$ to $s^{i+2}$.
After starting this inductive construction at $i = 0$ we can use $\gamma_0, \gamma_1, \ldots$ to define $\gamma : [0, 1] \to S \cup \left\lbrace x^1 \right\rbrace$ on $[0, 1)$ in the obvious way and then declare that $\gamma(1) := x^1$. For any integer $N$, $l \geq N$ implies $\operatorname{Im} \gamma_l \subseteq U_l \subseteq U_N$ so that $\gamma([t_N, 1]) \subseteq U_N$. Thus $\gamma$ is continuous at $1$ so that $S \cup \left\lbrace x^1 \right\rbrace$ is path-connected. Q.E.D.
It should now be clear how the idea behind this lemma's proof led to the above proposition's statement.
Proof of prop: Let $x^1$ and $\left( U_i \right)_{i=1}^{\infty}$ have the properties described in the proposition's statement, let $0 = t_0 < t_1 < \cdots < 1$ be s.t. $t_i \to 1$, and let $\gamma_0 : [t_0, t_1] \to S \cap U_1$ be any constant path. Suppose $i \geq 0$ is such that for all $1 \leq l \leq i$, we have constructed a path $\gamma_l : \left[ t_l, t_{l+1} \right] \to \overline{S} \cap U_l$ such that $\gamma_l(t_l) = \gamma_{l-1}\left( t_{l} \right)$ and $\gamma_l\left( t_{l+1} \right) \in S \cap U_{l+1}$ (note that this is true for $i = 0$). Our assumption on $\left( U_i \right)_{i=1}^{\infty}$ allows us to construct a path $\gamma_{i+1} : \left[ t_{i+1}, t_{i+2} \right] \to \overline{S} \cap U_{i+1}$ starting that $\gamma_i\left( t_{i+1} \right)$ and ending at some point of $S \cap U_{i+2}$. Exactly as was done in the proof of the above lemma, we may now define a continuous map $\gamma : [0, 1] \to \overline{S}$ such that $\gamma(1) = x^1$. Q.E.D.
Let $p: \tilde{X} \rightarrow X$ be a covering map in the broad definition (empty sum allowed, as Hatcher does). First, $p[\tilde{X}]$ is open in $X$: let $y \in X$ with $x \in \tilde{X}$ such that $p(x) = y$. Let $U$ be an evenly covered neighbourhood of $y$, so $p^{-1}[U] = \sum_{i \in I} O_i$ (disjoint sum over index set $I$). As $x$ is in the sum, it is non-empty: some $O_{i_{0}}$ contains $x$ and $p |_{O_{i_0}}$ is a homeomorphism between $O_{i_{0}}$ and $U$. In particular $U \subset p[\tilde{X}]$, so $y$ is an interior point of $p[\tilde{X}]$.
Suppose $y \notin p[\tilde{X}]$. Then again take an evenly covered neighbourhood $U$ of $y$: $p^{-1}[U] = \sum_{i \in I} O_i$, disjoint sum over some index set $I$, where for every $i \in I$, the map $p|_{O_i}$ is a homeomorphism between $O_i$ and $U$. This means (!) that $I = \emptyset$, as otherwise we'd have a preimage for $y$, contradicting how we picked $y$. So in fact $p^{-1}[U] = \emptyset$, and this shows that $U \subset X\setminus p[\tilde{X}]$, so $p[\tilde{X}]$ is closed.
Now if $X$ is connected and $\tilde{X}$ is non-empty, then $p[\tilde{X}]$ is closed, open and non-empty, so equals $X$ by connectedness. So $p$ is surjective.
These are the only conditions we need: $X$ connected and $\tilde{X} \neq \emptyset$.
Best Answer
(this is still a partial answer)
The following two properties of a topological space $X$ are equivalent (I use your numeration):
(2) every path-connected component of an open subset of $X$ is open
(3) $X$ is locally path-connected
Proof. (3) implies (2). Take a point $x$ of an open subset $U$, and consider the path-connected component $Y$ of the subset that contains $x$; since the space is locally path-connected, there exists a path-connected open neighbourhood $V$ of $x$ contained in $U$; obviously $V$ must be contained in $Y$, so $Y$ is open.
(2) implies (3). Take a point $x$ and an open neighbourhood $U$ of it. By hypothesis the path-connected component of $U$ containing $x$ is open so we are done.
The following property is not equivalent to (2)-(3), but is implied by them:
(1) open connected subsets of $X$ are path-connected.
As Nate suggested, the set of the rational number with the euclidean topology trivially satisfies (1) but doesn't satisfy (2)-(3).