1996 900 won't start

We bought a used 1996 900 with 64,000K in 1999. Fabulous car! Ran like a top. Got 30mph and purred like a kitten. At 80,000 it developed an engine whine that 2 dealerships can't diagnose. "Sometimes the 96s do that..." is their response. Grr. But that's not all. For the past 2 western PA winters the car has refused to start from October thru April. It stays outside. Oh, it will start eventually, but only after 15-30 cranks. It will start, then stop after a second or two. It will run for a few seconds, then stop, then a longer period of seconds, then stop. Finally, it will catch and I can run it. MPH has dwindled from 30 mph to 26.1. The 2 dealerships have had it for 8 weeks and 12 weeks respectively and can't find the trouble. Any help out there? I adore this car otherwise. It now has 124,000K. It doesn't always do it, though. SOme days it starts right up.

my problem is the same as yours....have you resolved this issue? if so, please let me know what the problem is....already spent $500 on work that didn't fix a thing!! thank you!

Snaab, the "whine" may be attributable to a bad idler pulley bearing (the one that sits in the center of the timing cover) that you'll need to replace.
As for the starting issue, perhaps the cold start injector has become clogged with oil/sludge deposits and needs to be cleaned ? Simply remove it and spray some parts cleaner (easily gotten from the local auto parts store) on it until it is rinsed clean, then re-install.