Hard starting, should I be worried?

[Ripper]

Mercury, you definitely know about heat and humidity in NC. Does your problem last year round or only in the warmest months? I'm getting nervous because I don't want to get stuck anywhere and I've noticed a ton of noise from the engine/transmission when I let the rpms fall below 1,000. For example, instead of downshifting to 1st, I keep the car in 2nd gear going around slow turns or through stops lights. But when I give it some gas, there is a ton of noise going on. It doesn't sound good. Any ideas what this could be? I want to have some idea of what it is before bringing it in for service.