96 Maxima will not start.

I have a 96 Max GLE with over 277K miles. I have had exactly 3 starters
since I got the car in 98. The one that came with it and the two that I
have put in it. The last one was put in this past July but the problem
I had didn't go away.

For some reason it has always had a starting problem that has
continously degraded over the years. At first, I was the only one that
could crank it. My ex could when we were together but no one else. If I
put it in the shop for tires or something, the techs would have to get
me to crank it. I just turned the key and that was that.

It was brought to my attention that I did turn it quite hard and fast.
Apparently I had learned to do this and the car learned to respond.
Over the last year, it has gotten much worse. It is at the point where
I have to repeatedly crank it until it "catches." Then I have to hold
it there while it cranks.

The new starter did crank it faster than the old one but the problem
with how it cranks was not fixed. I just recently had to tow it home
cause it died on me over a friend's house. I went to do the usual but
missed its attempt to crank. It usually just starts after a couple of
more turns but it never cranked again.

I was told it was the new starter. The towtruck driver touched my
starter with a long flat-head and you could hear it spinning but not
catching the engine. He said that meant the starter was bad. I just
want to know what it is.

Has the ignition switch gone bad and if it has how can you tell? Should
I find a way to put a switch in it to get it to crank? What and how can
I tell what is the problem? I do most of the repair work on my car but
I have not been able to fix this one.