Derick, your issue sounds more like a crank position sensor to me as well. It's not technically difficult to replace, but the harmonic balancer has to be removed to access it. It requires both a special tool to remove, and a torque wrench to re-install the retaining bolt.
As far as your question regarding the MAF sensor. Many AF members have unplugged their MAF sensors to test with no damage caused. Just be sure to unplug it with the car off, not while running. If the car runs better with the MAF unplugged, chances are that it's the issue. When this design MAF starts to fail, it may not trip a CEL, but can still cause the hesitation/hard start symptoms described.