Many Problems Of The Ford Escort!

Ok - I have a Ford Escort 1998 140,000 miles with a 2.0L engine. The problems I am having have been persistant for as long as I have had the car. I bought the car used back in 2001. The car worked great until about 2 months later when the warranty ran out(go figure!). There are 3 problems that are bothering me at the moment.
1. For about a year now (off and on) the car will not start unless I turn it to ACC a couple times and then turn the key all the way.
2. Once the car is started the engine will sometimes (not always) rev high and then level out. The high rev will normally last a few minutes. Once it has leveled I can drive normally but on some occasions my car feels like it is going by itself and I can take my foot off of the gas and brake and it will go up to 35 mph alone. When I brake during these times, the car will jump when it comes to a stop.
3. And last but not least, about a year ago the A/C and heater stopped working. When you turn the knob to on, you can hear the "hiss" that it makes when its trying to blow out air, but no air comes out. I can turn on the fan and once I am going about 50 mph, I get a cool breeze but nothing more.

Please help me! This car is my only option at the moment and I want to get it up to par so that I can feel safe with my 1 year daughter in it.