Hi. I have followed your journey with great interest as I am having similar issues but not exact. If I may, I have 2 suggestions. 1 has already been mentioned and that is the transponder chip located within the key fob.
Have you opened you fob to see if the chip is in its proper location and secured by its retainer ?
(it sits, tapper first, right behind the red lens on the fob) Honestly I’m not sure if there is a lot of room in there for it to slid around if it’s not retained properly but if it is moving then you may have found your problem. There are YouTube videos on the crossfire fob disassemble which are worth watching first.
My second suggestion has to do with your transponder receiver ring around the key, which you have talked about previously. I don’t know about your ignition switch but mine has a flat spot/area right on the very top. If you have a close look at you ring, you should also see a flat spot. The 2 are meant to be aligned. In my case, the wire on the ring is in exactly the 12 o’clock position.
Lastly…if that fails…
If I have gather correctly, you are able to spin your ring rather freely and have chosen a position that you think works well.
Just a thought… if the next time you have a engine start and then stop, that you try turning your ring slightly before you try to start the engine the second time and if that fails, try another slight turn before your third attempt.
These are just my thoughts and hopefully won’t cost you a dime to try.
its April 13th now so quit possibly you’ve solved your problem.
You also may have started another thread, which with my limited skills could be hard for my to find on here.
Good Luck Sir !!
please post if you find the problem
thank you !