Hey guys, ive got a problem with my DC2 vti-r that i haven't been able to solve.

Starting 6 months or so ago, my car took longer to start when it had been sitting overnight. This got progressively worse, so i changed my fuel filter ( which didn't fix it) then the spark plugs, which seemed to improve the issue.

A month or so later, the issue came back, and has been getting worse since then. When its been sitting over night, the car will crank for a fairly long time, fire once or twice then die. When i crank it again, it will start but run on two cylinders for about 5 or so seconds before being perfectly fine after that. If i then kill it, and start it again it starts perfectly fine.

I have been cautious to start changing parts without knowing exactly what the issue is. My fuel is priming, and i have checked for spark however it may be an intermittent spark issue so i haven't completely ruled this out.

I have been having some coolant issues recently, which i put down to a leaking top hose housing however again this may be another separate issue, given i read a thread saying that a leaking head gasket can let water pool on the cylinders and cause bad starts. If this was the case would i then definitely have a smokey exhaust/milky coolant?

Where should i start? there are no CEL codes and the car runs great once it starts.

Thanks!