Problems with 1999 Mazda Protege

I have a 1999 Mazda Protege ES 1.8 liter a little over 100,000 miles and it is a automatic. This does not happen every time I start the car, but it does happen at least once a day.

The car turns over like normal most of the time. Sometimes it dies right away, but most of the time it turns over and starts. The car does not "catch" all the way and acts as if it is a stick and wants to stall. If the needle goes below 1, the car will shake and want to die. The car will then have a strong gas odor.

After a period of time, the car will "catch" and run normal. Sometimes if I give it a steady push of gas and sometimes when I drive it will catch. Sometimes it "catches" quickly sometimes it will take five minutes.

Any help would be appreciated.