1996 Chevy Astro Starting prob

When you say that you have to play with the key in order to get it to start, does this mean that the switch will not turn at all until you wiggle the key up & down or in & out of the switch for a while; or do you mean that you have to turn the ignition switch (spinning the engine over) multiple times before the engine acutally stars running?

Worn keys or ignition switches can cause you to have to wiggle the key up & down or in & out of the switch for a while before the switch will turn to the on/run position. When the teeth of the key wear they can't operate the pins of the lock properly and therfore the lock is difficult to turn (until you play with it for a while). In this case a new key is usually the fix.