Ok, some updates. Looks like the problem has been fixed and it was a
BAD IGNITER (which has since been replaced).

I took the car to the mechanic and he diagnosed the problem was due to
the igniter. He did mention that it could also be because of the coil
or the worst case - entire distributor. Luckily it was just the igniter
but the repair shop (which happens to be with AAA and usually gives a
1yr/12,000 mile warranty on the part) did not give any warranty saying
that the coil was not replaced as per their recommendations!!!

So, I was wondering if
1. The coil (~180$ for parts+labour) should be replaced at this point
of time as it seems to be working just fine?
2. The mechanic told me that an old/weak coil could damage the igniter
(hence the "no warranty"). Is this true? (It does not seem to make
sense to me as I read that the igniter feeds the coil and not vice
versa)