I'm growing weary of my bonnie. It is intermittently not cranking again. The first ordeal regarding this was temporarily solved when my mechanic installed the resistor inline with the ignition so it would ignore the pellet on the key. I can now use a regular key to start my car. It worked for 3 months or so. Now once in a while I will get in the car, turn the key and no crank. I have to wait for the security light to go out...try again and usually but not always it works the 2nd time. It is so intermittent and random that there is no rhyme or reason to it. My mechanic is giving up hope on my car. Even though he did the resistor bypass I guess the VATS system is still alive and well. Please give me some ideas if you have any.

Seems to me the lack of a properly working VATS module is causing problems. The bypass resistor was a temporary fix, but not the solution. I believe a "better" technician should be looking at your car as well. Throwing parts at it & by-passing factory equipment is NOT the answer.

OK...I understand that possibly a better qualified technician should be looking into this...but my question is ......WHO??? The local Pontiac dealer sneered when I told him what year the car was...almost as if I was annoying them by asking about the problem. After that I did not even want to enlist their help even if they were willing because I've heard nightmare stories about their "troubleshooting" abilities. My mechanic is very good but I guess this is beyond his field of expertise. So what other choices do I have? I cannot afford to get stranded in this car again.

I understand your frustration here.
I can't believe a GM Dealership would treat ANYONE that way. We at our Pontiac Dealership will work on ANY car regardless of age, model & car manufacturer!
It'* trully sad to see a GM Dealership treat people like that.
The only "other" advice I can give you then is try another GM Dealership. ANY GM Dealership can service your car. I would gladdly look at your car myself, but distance between us prevents this. Sorry.

It looks as though the car is behaving properly again. Originally, after changing many parts with no resolution my mechanic enlisted the help of a retired GM engineer and he is the one who did the resistor bypass in my car. This past weekend my mechanic dropped the panel under the steering column to inspect this guys work. It appears as though he did a half-assed job of connecting the resistor. My mechanic wiggled it a little bit and the car would not start. My mechanic soldered it properly and shielded it from touching anything else and the car has been working for almost 2 weeks without incident. I really hope this was the problem.

I would bet you're all set. From what I read a while back about VATS bypass (I have an aftermarket remote start I was trying to research!), that'* pretty much all it takes. A properly connected resistor.