hard starting, and black trim

Cold start issues are usually related to the cylinder head temperature sensor (CHTS) wiring/harness or the sensor itself.

Inspect the connections between the harness and the CHTS for corrosion. Clean 'em with a wire brush. Also, crud tends to collect on the CHTS itself. It's supposed to slide back and forth somewhat loosely when removed from the engine (location = driver's side cylinder head, behind the rear timing cover).

Some peeps even replace the harness going to the CHTS ever-so-often. That may be required.

Inspect the passenger side Air Regulator too. It ups the idle on cold starts until a warmer 'operating' temperature is met.
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Most people just prep and paint their chrome trim black, rather than buy a replacement set (if there are any).

also, i hate the chrome(ish) trim on it. i have heard of replacement trim kits but havent found any. does anybody know where to get these?

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Easiest way is to buy a roll of 1" vinyl striping tape, but make sure the crome is clean and smooth just as if you were preparing to paint. Got my 50' (leaves you with extra) roll from West Marine for about $15 been on for several years and still looks like new. Nice thing is that if you get a nick in it just take off and retape

GEt your battery load tested. Be sure you have clean, tight corrosion free terminals on both ends of your battery cables. Be sure the ground (negative) cable goes to a bolt into the frame before going to the starter. grounding through the starter is not a reliable connection. Z's don't like low voltage. causes the electronics to act funny. If you have one size fit all cheapo clamp on terminals they are a problem waiting to happen.

Clean the connectors for the maf, ecu and tps. Deoxit by CAIG is probably the best connector cleaner on the market. spray with CorrosionX after cleaning and before putting together this will help prevent any further corrosion.

Replace the chts fairly cheap and often the cause of problems related to engine heat state when running. there are several gizmos on the z31 related to cold start. download the fsm from xenon and read up on them.

okay i fixed the hard starting. when i said i had done cap and rotor as well, i had done them about an hour before the post and hadn't had a chance to really cold start it. they fixed the issue.

also thanks for the vinyl tape idea, ill try that.