This problem has been getting worse and worse. I keep expecting it to set a code so I have a clue where to look but no luck, no code yet.

First thing in the morning, the car is very hard to start. It has to go thru 3-8 key cycles to get started. Once started bone cold, the car barely runs and will hardly accelerate. After driving literally like 30 seconds it gets a lot better. The car is still down on power but runs fairly smooth at light throttle. The longer the car runs/drives, the better it runs and more power it picks up. Under full throttle the car struggles like it's running out of breath, way down on power. If you have it at full throttle and let off to approx. 1/2 throttle, it actually runs better. It's like the car is starving for fuel or air.

The longer you drive the car, the better it gets. After a long drive, it's still down on power at full throttle but drives fairly smooth at anything under 1/2 throttle. If the car is still at least slightly warm, it will usually start on 1 or 2 key cycles, usually 2 key cycles.

Is this a common problem ?

At this point I'm thinking fuel as in clogged fuel filter or fuel pump barely working. I was also thinking clogged catalytic convertor but I don't think that would affect starting.

Ideas ?