Ford Ranger 4.0, 100,000+ miles after setting overnight in 30 degree temps, started on 1st crank and let it run for a minute idled smooth as?

Silk, shut it off, went back in house, came back out in 2 hrs, tried starting it and had to crank 4 times to get it started, ran rough for about 10-15 seconds and then idled fine and drove off with no problem.

Truck has good plugs, new pcv valve and air filter, cleaned throttle body. I've been meaning to clean the MAF sensor and replace the fuel filter but haven't gotten around to it.

Does anyone know what could be causing this and how do I fix it?

Added (1). This happens regularly after setting for long periods of time. Starts on 1st crank, idles smooth, shut it off and come back a few hours later and hard to start.

Added (2). Has strong battery, no problem cranking.

Get the battery charged and load tested. Could just be a weak battery.

The hard start followed by 10-15 seconds of running rough sounds like it was flooded, but I'm not sure how that happens in fuel injected engines except for a dripping injector. (I understand the late 80s Rangers were carbureted or had TBI, but when the 4.0 appeared in 1990 they were all multipoint injected.) Flooding is also consistent with recovering after sitting a while. The simplest (not necessarily the best) test is to try starting it with the throttle open after a few hours of sitting. If it fires up much quicker you have confirmed it is flooding.

As for why it is doing that, I suspect it is a Ranger thing. It certainly is not all that common in the Big Wide World. A Ranger forum would be the place to ask about that.