1996 Volkswagen Jetta Excessive White Smoke/Vapor from Exha

I am experiencing white smoke/vapor emanating from the exhaust on my 1996 VW Jetta GL 2.0. It seems light at first, then gets worse as the car heats up to temperature.

I had problems starting the car last week (cold and rainy) and had to crank the engine 10-15 times over 2 days to finally start it.

I had the spark plugs, cap and rotor replaced and the car starts fine but emits white smoke/vapor from the exhaust. It does not smell of gas or oil.

I took the car to a dealer and they ran a diagnostic (compression and leak check) and the cylinders tested normal. The dealer service dept. Told me the smoke/vapor could be due the catalytic converter being soaked with gas from cranking the motor and would eventually go away. They also told me the amount of smoke/vapor was not abnormal.

There are no MIL codes in the computer and I have no further way to troubleshoot except to drive it and see if it gets better. I am not sure if I risk damaging the engine by driving it.

Any suggestions would be appreciated.