When I had my cam follower done recently at a specialist nearby, I asked if there is a problem with the way it starts and he said not really, his son’s was the same, even though it kind splutters for a second while it gets going but that seems to be pretty normal. If mine has been sat for say 5 days or so, it will *crank, crank, crank splutter, pause, splutter* then idle.
I very much doubt a worn cam follower would cause that either and replacing it on mine didn’t make for noticeably smoother cold starts.
Your specialist might be right about the lpfp being the problem but I really don’t know a sure fire way to prove it is without replacing it. A telltale sign will be it failing to prime. When you open the driver door you should be able to hear a gentle hum for about 3/4 seconds, it may do a little hum again when you turn the key to position 2.
You’ve got spark and air and idle no problem, I guess the next port of call would be the lpfp like you said.
I think a more experienced member should be able to help you out, I’m really not as familiar as I’d like to be with ea113 yet.