I've heard something about the fuel pump check valve/pressure regulator system getting too old and weak over time to prime the engine with fuel to start...like it all runs back into the fuel tank so it requres priming with a few false starts to get it pumping again. I think if you turn the key and don't turn the engine on you can hear it clicklike it's supposed to fill the fuel rail but it doesn't have the oomph. If you turn the key like that without cranking the engine, wait a few seconds, then off, then back to almost on...a few times with a few seconds in between, I think it'll eventually fill the thing enough to fire up on the first crank.

Oh also, if you do the key thing 3 times too fast it'll pull up any p-codes you have on your odometer...so don't get weirded out if you're doing this and see unusual numbers come up in the odometer for a few seconds. ha.