My car is doing the weirdest thing lately. Crank it up from a cold start: no issues, totally fine. If I drive the car till the engine is at full operating temp and shut it off and start it again within 5-10 minutes its fine (e.g trip to the gas station) it's fine. BUT if I drive it till its at full operating temp, shut it off then attempt to crank it again about a half hour to an hour an a half later, it's a disaster. The car will crank, but the RPMs bounce all over the place and it dies. If I hit the gas during this it's sluggish to respond, If it responds at all. It usually takes 6-7 cranks before it catches its idle and runs smoothly. During this the smell of gasoline is very prominent.

I took it to a shop and they said it was just a bad fuel filter. That did nothing for my problem. Any ideas?

Also, the check engine light isn't on constantly. It only comes on when I drive on the highway for more than 20 or so minutes.

 

If you're able to duplicate this on demand, check to see if you have spark. If you don't, it could be the magnetic pick up or other ignition components. Could it be a vapor lock issue? It wouldn't take much to insulate your fuel lines near the engine and exhaust to see if that helps.