DES is defined to use a 64-bit key. Only 56 of these bits are really used, so the "effective key length" (for resistance against exhaustive search) is that of a 56-bit key. Yet, any implementation will expect a sequence of 64 bits (hence, 8 bytes, not 7).
Triple-DES (aka "3DES") is three DES instances in due sequence. The "middle" DES instance is used in decryption mode, precisely so that an engine which implements 3DES can also execute plain DES. If you name the three successive keys K1, K2 and K3, then, when K1 = K2, the two first DES instances cancel each other (the second DES being in decryption mode, it reverses what the first DES did), so this is equivalent to simple DES with key K3. Similarly, if K2 = K3, this is equivalent to simple DES with key K1.