I have been having trouble starting my 2003 Park Ave. Ultra for awhile now. No SES light on, just have to crank for awhile before she starts. I have replaced the fuel filter. Thinking it may be a FPR issue but there is no smell of gas in the vacume line. I have noticed that it seems less hesitant to start when the tank is full. Not sure if it is related but around the same time the issue started the needle for my temp gauge had spun around and is currentley stuck below the peg on the low side. The car never overheated or leaked any fluid. I do have 222,000 miles on her. Plan on getting a few more. This is the supercharged model. I have also noticed that I have to kick her down a little more when going up steep grades, and it seems a little hessitant at times. I am hoping not to have to replace a fuel pump but am thinking that may be the culprit. New plugs, wires, fuel filter installed in the last 15,000 mi. whatta ya think? Open to any help on this matter.

sounds like it could be the regulator or pump. if you put a pressure guage on it usually if you get 45 to 50 when you turn the key on. if it bleads off fast the regulator is bad. if it dont make pressure the pump is bad

I just purchased a new FPR, found an AC Delco on Amazon for $58.00. I will have that in Friday. Thanks for your help. I will keep you posted.

Like others have said, get (or borrow) a fuel pressure gauge, and check that out before buying anything else.

Also, the thing about the gauge tells me there may be an electrical issue, this could hinder the fuel pump without it being bad. I have an 03' park avenue non-ultra, and I've talked to mechanics I know about these cars and ground wires are notorious for coming loose. Check the ground wires for all 4 fuse boxes, even the one under the back seat, as I believe that one operates the ride leveling pump and fuel pump (among other things). The ground wire for the under-dash fuse box, should be on the kick panel, to the left of the parking brake pedal.

New symptom today, the plastic elbows for the heat mixer finally went out. I replaced the FPR and installed the new plastic elbows. While I was under the hood I noticed a T for the vacuume line that had disintegrated. I had to go to the dealership to get one. Not too terribly pricey though. I also replaced the belts too. When I went to burp the radiator I could not get the air out. IT took forever for the motor to heat up which got me to thinking the thermostat must be bad too. Pulled it out and found a small rupture in the gasket around the thermostat. I have honestly never seen that one before. One more trip to the parts shop tomorrow and hopefully that will be all.
Question I have for you here. What is the best way to get air out of the cooling system?
I also noticed that while running the heat on the highest setting my AC was blowing max... I hope that this is not yet another issue to accomplish. I also checked and cleaned all of the ground wires some were MN rusty but you have to expect that. Does anyone know how I could move the needle for the Temp gauge back around so it is in a working position it is currently under the pin and therefore cannot go up?
Thanks for the help!

its sort of a common gm issue to have the stepper motors in the gauge pod be bad, i dont think you can just reset it. does the gauge move but out of position? i have heard of people fixing them there self with a motor from ebay but i havent

No it the gauge does not work at all. There is a Coolant temp in the gauge info. menu so I can still see how warm its getting if I am curious.

In regards to burping air out of the cooling system, there'* a screw on top of the thermostat housing. Just loosen the nut at the bottom of the screw, then loosen the screw.

Are you sure the AC was running, or just the blower? The blower will still vary even though the heater is on. Was the compressor clutch engaged? If it is, then try using the vent button on the climate control, control panel. If you hear the clutch disengage then the AC was on. Sometimes this turns on if your heat setting is close to the ambient air temperature, this gives the climate control system more control over the air temperature it'* producing. It'* not terribly efficient, but it was designed for passenger comfort over efficiency.

I am positive the A/C was on and am not sure why. Thanks for the pic. on the valve. I was able to get all of the air out. As soon as the air was out the A/c quit running. This really weird that it came on with the Temp turned up to 90. must have been trying to compensate for the lack of heat coming out of the heater core by running the a/c to heat the motor faster. Just thinking outloud.