[BUG] `npm install --save-exact` doesn't work in 7.7.4

[selrond]

Continuing with #2932 (comment)

Current Behavior:

npm i -E <package> or npm i --save-exact <package> produces "<package>": "^1.2.3"

Expected Behavior:

should produce "<package>": "1.2.3"

Steps To Reproduce:

npm i -E <package>

Environment:

• OS: macOS Catalina 10.15.7
• Node: 15.12.0
• npm: 7.7.4

[nlf]

this was fixed in npm@7.7.5 and i've confirmed it can't be reproduced in versions after that.