What year is your ride? I had a 1990 Festiva that I was using for ice racing (one of the best cars for it, if you ask me, especially if COMPLETELY gutted) that did the exact same thing. It was hard to start, even at 5 degrees celcius. Sometimes I had to prime it thru the intake with ether to get it going. Until the motor reached about 60 Degrees celcius, I could barely touch the throttle without it wanting to die out. Even after warming up, I had to pump the throttle when I was tying to accelerate. It would even stall if I would try to hold it to the floor. It was obviously running too lean. I changed the fuel filter, which helped. New plugs were installed. Turned out to be the throttle position sensor. I also found that it was also idling high, Which was a defective idle air valve. I'd test the fuel pressure at the fuel rail and see if it drops a lot when you open the throttle, which would indicate a bad filter, restricted line, or bad fuel pump. If not, check the electronics, wiring in the engine compartment, etc. Hope it helps!
