2000 sportage-difficulty starting when engine is hot

cold starting almost always ok, almost always very difficult to start when engine is hot. if i let the car sit for a while usually starts ok. right now car is at local mechanic and he has found intermittant spark problem(7/30/08) any ideas out there? 49K miles on vehicle

Sporty has a lot of idiosyncrasies..that is "proprietary" aches... that seem to escape all logical explanations...and this one is part of 'em. However, ailing crank position sensor is a common cause...in all makes of cars...for what you describe..and in some cases, it is the explanation with the Sporty too.
WHen you find out..please report in this forum as it can help others too.

the mechanic found nothing on the code reader. i believe he did an ohm meter check on the crank angle sensor and found it ok. to me it seemed a possible intermittant poor sensor contact triggered by a hot engine. i suggested inspecting and cleaning sensor connections(especially the crank angle sensor). the mechanic said ok and he would also replace the fuel filter. i have only driven it one day since, but it starts fine hot and cold now. i forgot to ask if he cleaned the connections as i suggested.