97 in trouble---what is it?

My 1997 SE with the 3.8L is acting up recently. First, gear whine is evident at low speeds. It seems to be louder when I'm making a tight turn slowly, like making a right turn from a stop for instance. Also, the steering wheel is more resistent to being turned than it used to be. I'm thinking this is a differential problem??

The other thing is probably the crank position sensor, at least thats what it seems like from other posts: Two times in the last 5 months the car has refused to fire when being cranked over by the starter motor. All the electrical interior stuff works fine and the starter turns at full strength but it either isnt firing or maybe is firing at eh wrong time? Then yesterday it just died at idle at a stoplight and exhibited the same symptoms before restarting. After about a 5-10 minute wait it starts up like normal. Its a strange thing. No check engine light either.

Thanks for any help you can give.

hay I had this prob with my 96 and the diff exploded on my way to school last year but the only good thing is its not that hart to replace just a pain in the back and in the pocket book