after 5 or 6 long cranks then i feel a shudder as i turn the key back to run and it will usually start right up, sometimes it starts just fine... heres a pic of the junk.
Hook a voltmeter to the + side of the coil (digital meter) then crank over the engine and you should be getting battery voltage to the coil while cranking!
If your not getting battery voltage (cranking battery voltage that is) when it's cranking then you might have a wiring/ig. switch issue. It would be ignition 2 on the back of the switch.