Why is my car hard to start?

I have a 1994 probe gt with the 2.5L v6. I've owned it for about 2 1/2 months now. its always been a little reluctant to start after sitting for a few hours (curiously it usually starts immediately in the mornings) but recently its been getting worse. it now requires a small bit of gas to start from cold. in addition, oil consumption has been alarmingly high. i had to put more in the other day so i filled it half way between the low and high marks on the dip stick and three days later its almost down to low again. i'm almost positive it was burning little to no oil prior to the last couple weeks. I am thinking of replacing the spark plugs which, though they look good might be faulty. but i don't think that explains the oil consumptions. i'm worried that it could be valves or piston rings but the engine runs perfectly still once it starts and has idled for about 30 secs.