the reason I doubt it is the starter is because
they usually have a tendency to act up first, so drag,etc
does not mean it is.. could still be no telling what..
the reason I said test the battery is because I had
one that would start up fine when it was cold, drive awhile then it would turn slow..wait a while longer and it would just fine till the next drive... I installed a hot shot kit, did not work.
was told it was the starter,timing and so forth.. I just kept driving it, then one time while getting gas my wife was with me, had to wait a few min for it to crank...........she says, why not get your battery checked out.......I told her no way was it the battery but............I had it checked out under load..........
it had a dead cell.. I had been dealing with this prob lem for almost 2 yrs before I checked it out.........thanks to my smart wife... yes, I told her what was wrong with it..lol that was 2 yrs ago..one just never knows